


You Are Not A Human Being

by IllMadeKnight



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Absent Parents, Action & Romance, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Bisexuality, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Galra Keith (Voltron), Injury Recovery, M/M, Major Character Injury, Moral Dilemmas, Morally Ambiguous Character, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Philosophy, Pining Keith (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2020-06-25 09:27:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 30,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19742851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IllMadeKnight/pseuds/IllMadeKnight
Summary: After almost losing the Castle of Lions, Keith finds himself fearing what his Galra heritage could mean for him and his place in the team. Much to his surprise the brooding loner finds out that he's not as alone as he's always thought. But can his new bonds withstand the secrets he hides? What is really the value of honesty?





	1. Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> I'm finally getting over the fact that the last seasons of Voltron weren't really good. Oh well. Life goes on and there are new shows to disappoint us. Here's something short and sweet that I wrote to get a quick break from Soon I Shall Be Indestructible.

Keith had never expected that such a small force of Galra could almost cost them the Castle of Lions. Sendak had been far more ruthless, brutal and… unsentimental about losses than he’d ever seen any soldier be. Lance had almost died and Zarkon had come way too close to getting his hands on Voltron. Just the thought made him shudder. 

After the day they’d had Keith wanted nothing more than to lie down and… think. He wasn’t the only one. Hunk was looking woozy and Lance was still spaced out from his dip in the healing tanks. Even Shiro and Allura couldn’t hide how much they needed a nap. Only Coran was looking fresh. What was his secret? 

But apparently his day wasn’t complete without one last bombshell. Pidge stepped before the team looking unusually nervous.

“I can’t man up. I’m… a girl.”

Keith blinked and stared at Pidge. Was he supposed to know that? Why didn’t anyone ever tell him these things?! What was he supposed to say?! Nothing in his life had prepared him for this moment. He looked at the others for advice, but Hunk looked as confused as him. The commotion snapped Lance out of his trance, and he looked around wildly.

“What?! What?! Who’s a girl? Is it Keith?”

Hunk elbowed Lance while Shiro rolled his eyes like a patient but overworked father. 

“We’ve always known.” Shiro said.

They had?!

“Er… yes. Always.” Keith lied.

“We had?” Lance said.

“Everyone besides Lance.” Allura said.

Lance flashed them a mischievous grin.

“Is it my fault that no one ever tells me these things?”

Pidge looked relieved. Like a terrible weight had been lifted from his… Her! From her shoulders. Keith envied that. Being honest with others. Trusting them to be there for you even after the truth was revealed. What would happen if he revealed his own secrets? Would they still welcome him with open arms? 

Shiro ordered them to get rest and no one had any complaints. While Pidge was walking towards her room, Keith called after her. Pidge turned to look at him surprised.

“What is it?”

“I just wanted to say that you’re… doing the right thing. Staying with Voltron and not going after your family.”

First Pidge looked taken aback and then insulted. When he saw the anger on her face, Keith realized how that had sounded.

“I mean… we are your best chance to find your family. Voltron is the most powerful weapon in the universe, right? We’ll be able to gather intel on all the people Galra have taken prisoners with it and when we know where they are… well, rescuing them will be easy with Voltron.”

The anger on Pidge’s face was replaced with surprise. Then she smiled.

“You’re right, Keith. You’re right. Thank you.”

Keith tried to figure out what he was supposed to do next and offered his hand for a shake. That’s what Shiro would have done. Right?

Pidge ignored his hand and went straight for a hug. Keith stood awkwardly in her embrace.

“Sorry if I’ve been difficult.” Pidge said after letting him go: “You know… I used to think you were kind of a dick. I’m glad I was wrong.”

“You thought I was a dick?”

Pidge laughed.

“You make an excellent impression of one.” Pidge said.

After saying goodnight Pidge went to her room and Keith dragged himself to his. When he was inside, he made sure Allura’s mice hadn’t found their way in and then checked that the door was locked. When the room was secure, he took out the only memento he had of his mother. A knife. The kind he had never seen before. Nor had any of the experts he’d showed it to. No one had seen anything like it.

Before facing the Galra.

The shape was a bit different, but the carvings left no room for doubt that it was a Galra blade. A gift from his mother to his father, who’s then passed it on to him… before passing on himself. Which meant… which would mean…

Keith shuddered at the thought.

Sendak had been a cruel and brutal commander but the worst part was that he’d still behaved himself like a professional soldier instead of a maddened war criminal. Like being unnecessarily cruel and vile had been part of his training. None of his soldiers had complained when their commander had spent their lives. Victory or death. Nothing else mattered. You either won or died trying. 

His father had accepted a weapon from such an army.

It did make sense. The Galra Empire believed that the universe’s rightful place was under Zarkon’s boot. Why wouldn’t they send scouts to Earth for an eventual invasion? The blade proved that. And his father had met one of those scouts… and impressed such a brutal culture for one of their own to gift him with a weapon… and a son.

Had his father been a traitor to the human race? Had he been helping the Galra prepare for an invasion? Where… humans even his people?

Keith had always been faster than the other children. Stronger too. When it came to reflexes, he’d yet to meet his match. Only Shiro could best him and he was a soldier in his prime with over a decade of experience and Keith was already gaining on him. He’d blasted his way through all the pilot tests the Garrison had thrown at him and Shiro had declared him a prodigy. 

Shiro… his brother… or father. What would Shiro think if he knew who Keith really was? What he really was? A member of the race that had enslaved him. Taken his arm. What would Allura think? Or Coran? Galra had destroyed their planet and culture and… the Altean race. Two people couldn’t rebuild an empire. Altea would die with them. 

Keith hid the blade. He needed to train. It would help him clear his mind. He jogged to the training room and picked up a practice sword. After setting the sparring bots to the highest difficulty he trained until he was ready to drop. Then he trained some more. His muscles were burning and he was half-blinded by sweat but he pushed himself through the pain to that blessed place without thought. 

“Would you look at that? Now there’s a butt that just won’t quit.”

Keith flinched and then cursed himself. He’d been so absorbed in his training that he hadn’t noticed someone sneak inside. Lance was standing at the door to the training room in his swimming trunk with a towel thrown on his shoulder. His hair was still wet from a dip in the pool.

“Training keeps me sharp. You should try it.” Keith said.

“Woo. Hostile. For your information, I’ll be taking Blue for a flight after I’ve dried up. Some of us have to practice flying to be awesome at it.” Lance said and looked at him: “That looks more like self-torture then anything.” 

“You do that.” Keith said sullenly: “We can’t have you slowing us down.”

“This coming from the guy who almost skewered Klaizap. I’m no politician but I’m sure that’s something of a gaff.” 

“He was Arusia’s bravest warrior!”

Lance grinned.

“And how lucky we were to have you protecting us from such a fierce killer.” Lance said and then looked around: “Can I ask you something?”

“What?”

“Did you really know that Pidge was a lady?”

“… of course.” Keith said.

Lance had the most infuriating grin he’d ever seen.

“So, you didn’t. You’re not as hard to read as you think.”

“What made you such a social expert?”

“Growing up with way too many siblings. You learn to recognize these things. Like if someone has something bothering them.” Lance said and then just looked at him.

Keith looked away first.

“Nothing’s bothering me.”

“Once again, you’re not so hard to read. Unlike Pidge. Seriously. That’s how you keep a secret.” Lance said and his grin mellowed into something… thoughtful: “If you want to talk about, I can listen. We wouldn’t want you to slow the team down with emotional baggage.”

Keith was about to tell Lance to mind his own business and bugger off when what Pidge had said came back to him. 

_I used to think you were kind of a dick. You make an excellent impression of one._

A dick, huh? He’d never meant to act like one. He’d just wanted people to leave him alone and let him figure things out for himself. He looked at Lance. He’d always thought Lance was an idiot and a braggart who’d fold over the moment the going got tough. He’d been wrong on two accounts. There was a kind of… low cunning to him and he’d taken a blow for Coran without hesitation. He was still a braggart though… and now he was offering to help him. Shiro had always told him to try being more sociable. 

“Talk to me. Even if it’s something embarrassing no one would believe me.” Lance said. 

Keith drew a deep breath and… took a leap of faith.

“Pidge had me thinking… he… She! She’s trying to find her family and that… got me thinking about my father.”

“You must be worried about him.” Lance said.

“He’s dead.” 

Lance’s eyes widened.

“I… I’m sorry. That must have been awful for you. How did he… you know?”

“He was a firefighter. There was a fire and… you know.”

They stood in heavy silence. Lance was the first one to break it.

“And your mother?”

“I’ve never met her, but I just found out that she might have been… a criminal.”

Keith gripped the sword’s handle harder.

“My dad never told me and… what if he was a criminal too? It feels like everything I knew about him… about myself… was a lie.”

A lie. The one person he should have been able to trust had lied to him all his life. He wanted to be angry… he was angry but… it was too much. It was too big to process and just left him numb.

“What was your dad like?” Lance asked.

“Rarely at home but… I was always happy when he was.”

“Well, he was a firefighter. Keith… I don’t think you can ever really know someone. Even your parents. So… it’s unfair to jump into conclusions and assume the worst when you don’t know the full story.” Lance said before laughing nervously: “That’ what my mom said anyway.”

“She sounds nice.” Keith said quietly.

“Because she is most of the time. Feeling better?”

“… I don’t know.”

“If you want to talk more…”

“I think I want to sleep now.” Keith said.

“You do that. Wouldn’t want to ruin that cute face of yours by staying up too late.”

When Lance turned to leave and Keith saw his back, he shuddered. Lance’s skin was a mixture of brown and pink… except for his back. The healing tanks had saved his life after the explosion, but it couldn’t erase the scars. White wings woven form scar tissue were sprouting from Lance’s back.

Lance stopped and glanced at him over his shoulder.

“You know… I hate to be a dick about this but… Pidge pretending to be a boy wasn’t exactly the hardest disguise to pull off.”

Keith snorted. He couldn’t help it.

“Look at that. You can laugh. You might be human after all.” Lance said.

Keith smiled.

“Thanks, Lance.”

“I don’t know what for but yay. Compliments.”


	2. Regrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance listened to Keith's troubles. It's just fair that Keith returns the favor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place after episode six.

After they’d cleaned up the mess Lance had gotten himself into with Nyma that had almost ended up with bounty hunters getting away with the Blue Lion, Shiro told Lance come to his room. Keith didn’t envy him. Shiro rarely raised his voice. He never had to. When he lectured you the subtle disappointment in his voice was so much worse than a screaming fit. Shiro had expected things from you and you’d messed up.

When Keith later went to look for Lance, Shiro told him he’d assigned Lance with some extra training to make sure the lesson stuck. He found Lance in shooting range and found him to be a surprisingly good shot. He didn’t waver or hesitate when pulling the trigger, and the bullet always found the bull’s eye. Lance didn’t notice he was being watched until he stopped to change the magazine.

“If you came to chew me up, don’t. Just don’t. Unless you’re happy with Shiro’s and Allura’s sloppy seconds.” Lance said.

Keith groaned in annoyance. How did Lance always find a way to get under his skin?

“Can’t you take anything seriously?”

“Sweetheart, I’m always serious.” Lance said and took aim.

Keith lost it. He couldn’t help it. There had been too many close calls in the past few days. He grabbed Lance and picked him up. Too easily. Lance was taller than him and surprisingly muscular for such a lanky guy. Just dragging him up like that shouldn’t have been possible. For a human anyway but he was too angry to care.

“Goddamn it, Lance! You…!”

There was a flash of cold anger on Lance’s face that transformed him into something terrifying. 

“I, what?! What, Keith?! What?! I don’t need you to tell me that I screwed up! That we almost lost Blue because of me! I get it!”

Lance wasn’t jut angry but close to tears too and Keith felt the rage leave him. Without it he was just tired. He’d stayed up for too long. Been on the edge too much. Fought too hard. He let go of Lance and his hands fell weakly on his side.

“… I’m sorry. I… I’ll leave you to it.” Keith said.

Lance didn’t answer and just sullenly stared at the floor. Keith was almost out of the door when…

“… wait.”

When he turned back the usual bravado Lance carried himself with was gone. He just looked sad and lost. Even Keith could tell something else was wrong than just being made look like a fool by a second-rate bounty hunter.

“… I’m listening.” Keith said.

Lance couldn’t look him in the eyes and gazed at everything in the room except at him.

“When that crystal blew up… I could’ve died. I… felt my back burn and… tear. When I passed out… I wasn’t sure if I’d wake up… or how much of me would be left.”

Finally, Lance could look him in the eyes, and he looked just so… so scared.

“This is war. I know Shiro tries not to call it that but… that’s what it is. This is war and we could die. At any time.”

Keith couldn’t think of anything to say… except one thing.

“Why… didn’t you tell us? Shiro… you could have talked to Shiro.”

Lance rolled his eyes.

“Oh yeah. Talk to Shiro. Tell the man who survived over a year with the Galra that one explosion had me pissing my pants. You can’t tell a hero you’re afraid.”

Keith fell quiet. Shiro was a hero? Yes. Yes, he was but… who listened to a hero’s problems and worries? Shiro had held it all together so well that none of them had wondered if there was something wrong. Something he might have to get off his chest. They all just tried to live up to the image they had of Shiro and none of them had stopped to think could even Shiro live up to it.

“If you’re so afraid… we could find another paladin.” 

Lance laughed mirthlessly.

“I say Vol. You say…?”

Keith stared at him confused. He still hadn’t gotten that.

I say… Voltron?” Keith suggested.

“You’re no fun. I say Vol. You say Tron. The point is, we are Voltron. The only thing that stands against Zarkon. If one of us ran, that would be that. People would lose what little hope they had.”

“But if you’re so afraid…”

“Show me a man who’s not afraid and I’ll show you a liar. I’ll just have to… fake it till I make it. We are what we pretend to be.” Lance said.

People were what they pretended to be? Keith nodded. He liked that.

“But you’re right. I am afraid. If I could die tomorrow, why not have fun today? And when Nyma started giving me the old bedroom eyes, what was I supposed to do? Take a cold shower?”

“You should have still been more careful. Even Hunk knew something was off.” Keith said.

“Hindsight is 20/20. I just thought my roguish charm and sinewy body had done it again.”

Keith snorted. No one could infuriate him like Lance, but few people could make him laugh like him.

“You know… Nyma was an alien. So, she… wasn’t even necessarily a she.” Keith said.

“As captain Kirk said, what happens in space, stays in space. Besides, I’ve never been terribly particle about those details. If it’s pretty and willing, I’m game.”

“I think we call that not having standards.” Keith said.

Lance gasped in feigned insult.

“I have standards. I have all the standards. You don’t see me putting the moves on Pidge. I don’t know what my cutoff date is, but fourteen is way below it.”

“She has to be eighteen or very close to it to attend a military academy.” Keith said.

“She had us all convinced that she was a he. Who knows what else she tricked us about? I’m not taking any chance with that shit.” Lance said and rubbed his pointed chin: “I’m running low on options on the castle. I'm starting to suspect that Allura isn't all that into me.”

“No. What gave you that idea?” Keith said.

Lance smirked at him.

“Was that a joke? There might be hope for you yet. I guess that just leaves you.”

Keith rubbed his eyes in exasperation… and felt his cheeks warm up.

“I’m flattered but…”

Lance just laughed.

“That was a joke. Or was it? Figure it out before some weirdly hot alien steals me away.” Lance said and changed the magazine in the rifle: “I'd love to see how the Red Lion flies.”

“They’re not for joyrides.” 

“Not with that attitude. You should have some fun today. We might be dead tomorrow. Get hammered. Do something you regret in the morning. It’s better to regret thing you did than things you didn’t.” Lance said.

“No. It’s not.”

“You sure?” Lance said.

Keith just sighed and looked at the targets.

“You’re a good shot.”

“Yay. More compliments. I could get used to those.” Lance said.

“But it’s not a good idea to over-specialize. How’s your swordsmanship?” 

“Are you asking me out on a date?”

Keith counted to ten.

“Lance… why do you have to make everything so difficult for me?”

“Maybe I like the way you look when you blush?” Lance said and the rifle transformed into its Bayard form: “Fine. Sword fighting. Show me what you got.”

“Gladly. Let’s see how I like you looking blue and purple.” 

“I like where this is going. Let’s just say that I kept those handcuffs Nyma left me with.”

The match wasn’t the one-sided beatdown Keith had thought. Lance was in good shape and he had the basics down. It was nothing Keith couldn’t have handled but he couldn’t bring himself to be as vicious as usual. And he couldn’t stop smirking. When Lance was finally too tired… and blue and purple to go on, they called it a night.

After a quick shower, Keith headed to his room… and then changed his mind and knocked on Shiro’s door. He was still up as always. Did he ever sleep?

“Keith? Is something wrong?”

“I… talked with Lance and…”

“Oh?” Shiro said sounding awkward: “Hope I wasn’t too hard on him.”

“No. It’s just… are you alright? I… don’t think anyone really asked you that. After everything you went through with the Galra. If you ever need to talk about it, you know we’re here for you. Right?”

Shiro was quiet for a while and then smiled.

“I know. Thank you, Keith.”

Back in his room, Keith took out the Galra blade. People were what they pretended to be? Lance could be surprisingly deep. If people really were the masks they wore, then he’d pretend to be… Keith. Paladin of the Red Lion. Then that would be who he was. People were what they pretended to be after all.


	3. Truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Secrets are meant to be found out and Keith and Lance learn more about themselves and their enemies then they ever wanted to know.

They had arrived on the planet Velka hoping to meet a rebel force operating there but when Keith had come down on the planet to scout it with Shiro and Lance, they’d found that the rebels had been dealt with just a few weeks prior. The Castle was hovering on the orbit and they’d have to wait for the planets movement to bring it back on the right spot so they could fly back as quickly as possible. Until then they had to lay low and hide. 

Shiro had told them treat this as a short vacation but Keith had always hated just sitting around doing nothing. It made him restless and gave him too much time to… think. If he didn’t have anything to do, his thoughts always returned to the Galra blade hidden in his room. In desperation he even agreed to go on a food run with Lance. 

They left their rented room and Keith pulled up his hoodie. Lance glanced at him annoyed.

“Could you stop that?” Lance said.

“It’s not wise for people to see our faces.” 

“What do you think people are going to remember? A guy covering his face acting all suspicious or some dude they just passed on the street?” Lance said and looked around: “It’s not like we stand out here.”

Keith grumbled… but then pulled down his hoodie. Lance had a point.

In Coran’s story planet Velka had barely gotten out of the middle ages when the original Paladins had saved them from a space locust. Things had changed a lot since then and Keith suspected it had something to do with the Galra military academy in the city. The city’s technology had also far surpassed Earth’s and become a hub world for trade and species from all over the universe now mingled there. 

They entered the first restaurant they found and started studying the menu.

“This is stupid.” Keith said.

“I know.” Lance said from behind the menu: “No English menu. Stupid, racist aliens.”

“Not that. How are we supposed to fight the Galra without allies? This is the third planet where this has happened.”

“I’d imagine Zarkon is very good at blowing up rebels. He’s had ten thousand years to practice.” 

Keith threw the menu on the table annoyed.

“How does anyone even live that long?”

“We should ask Zarkon before we shoot him off the universe. I wouldn’t mind still be pimping at that age.”

“I…” Keith said when he fell quiet.

Lance followed his gaze and whatever stupid joke he’d been thinking was caught in his throat.

Two Galras walked in.

Both were young women, looking like Galra equivalent of older teenagers and they were dressed in military academy uniforms. The one who walked in first was tall and fit with a cocky grin. Her friend was smaller, and she had a sharp glare hidden behind a pair of glasses. Keith couldn’t quite put his finger on it but there was something… off about the taller Galra. Her features… came together differently than her smaller friend’s. 

The Galra looked around disappointed when they realized there were no free tables.

Keith grabbed Lance’s arm.

“We should go.” He whispered.

“Or we should go on the offensive.” Lance shot back and stood up: “My saviors!”

Lance waved at the Galras. The smaller Galra looked annoyed but the taller one seemed intrigued. 

“We are?” The tall Galra said.

“Yes. Yes, you are.” Lance said while walking up to them: “We just arrived here and have no grasp of the lingo. Mind helping a starving man? What is safe to eat?”

The tall Galra grinned.

“That depends. What’s in it for me?”

“You need more than my gratitude? Fine. We can share our table.” Lance said.

Cold sweat started running down Keith’s back and he wished he had a weapon on him when the Galras glanced at their table.

The tall Galra crossed her arms.

“That almost sounds like I’m doing you another favor.”

“Well… that’s because you would. My friend is pretty to look at but there’s not much going on upstairs. I prefer intelligent company during dinner.” Lance said.

 _Prick_ , Keith thought.

“Dumb and pretty, huh? Sounds like he’s right up Alsa’s alley.”

“Shut up, Razkha.” The smaller Galra said.

The tall Galra… Razkha looked at Keith then at the smiling Lance. Finally, she grinned.

“Fine. We’ll amuse you and your dumb, pretty friend but no hanky panky. I’m not that kind of a girl.”

“And I’m not that kind of a boy.” Lance said.

“Liar.” Alsa said but followed her friend to their table. 

“Not a liar. Just lucky. The name’s Smith. My dumb, pretty friend is John.” Lance said.

They sat in the same table and ordered what Razkha recommended. Keith tried to act natural and look like he didn’t want to run away. The intel they could gather might make this trip worthwhile after all. 

“I’m guessing you are students at the military academy.” Lance said while they waited for their food.

“What gave us away? You a spy?” Razkha said.

“Me? A spy? I would never.” Lance said.

Razkha pointed a fork at Lance.

“Sounds like something a spy would say.”

Lance put his hands up.

“You caught me. Can we at least eat before you bring us in? Maybe I can even convince you to let us go.”

“Fine. This once.” Razkha said and put down the fork.

Keith and Alsa shared a look and for the first time in his life he was in perfect understanding with someone while they watched Lance’s and Razkha’s flirting. Then he shuddered. What was he doing? Emphasizing with a Galra. With the enemy. An uneasy feeling started forming in his stomach. Razkha and Alsa were… different. They didn’t act like bloodthirsty monsters but… kids you could find in any military academy. He’d… gone to school with people like this. 

“You two soldiers too?” Alsa said.

“I’m a lover. Not a fighter. And something of a master of my craft.” Lance said.

“You move like a soldier. Your friend too.” Alsa said.

“Give it a rest.” Razkha sighed: “Sorry. She’s an espionage trainee and won’t turn it off.”

“She’ll get far. I was studying to be a soldier too but… something else came up. You know. One of those once in a lifetime opportunities.” Lance said.

“And what is a once in a lifetime opportunity?” Razkha said.

“I’m not putting all my cards on the table just yet. Give me time and I might tell you.” Lance said.

“Ooh. A mystery. I like those.” 

Their food arrived and what looked and smelled like pizza was put in front of them. It even tasted like pizza.

“What about you, John? Did you get a lifetime opportunity too?” Razkha said while wolfing down her… pizza?

Alsa smiled her crooked smile and adjusted her glasses much like Pidge would.

“I’m guessing he got kicked out.”

Lance laughed and patted Keith’s back.

“She got you there.”

“Yeah.” Keith admitted: “They said I had an attitude problem. Guess they were right. Even my… friends think I’m a dick.”

Razkha growled.

“It’s such bullshit. They’re always harder on us half-breeds. Shit. My mom got practically disowned for marrying a Velkan. So… which of your parents is Galra?”

Keith and Lance almost choked on their space pizzas.

“What’s wrong?” Alsa said suspiciously.

“I…” Keith said and took a drink of water: “I’m just surprised. People can rarely tell.”

“Yeah. It’s subtle but one half-breed knows another.” Razkha said.

“And I thought I was quick on the uptake.” Lance said and gave Keith… a look: “And it was his mother.”

“So, we’re in the same boat.” Razkha said. 

“Lotor is trying to crackdown on the discrimination in academies. If you’re interested, I could talk to my aunt. She might be able to get you reinstated. People rarely say no to a hero’s widow.” Alsa said.

“Widow?” Lance said.

“My uncle…” Alsa said and suddenly her eyes turned misty: “… he died. Fighting the Blue Lion. We didn’t see each other much but… he was still my hero.”

A shiver ran down Keith’s back and Lance stared at his pizza suddenly looking nauseous. 

“… I… I’m sorry.” Lance said.

“Guess we brought the room down, huh?” Razkha said: “But Alsa is right. We need all hands on deck now that Voltron is back. It’s making the scum bold. The local rebels almost blew up our academy just a few weeks ago. If it wasn’t for Lotor, we’d all be dead.” 

“It’s insane that some people are still loyal to a slaver king that got dealt with five-hundred years ago and good riddance I say.” Alsa said.

“Galra use slaves too.” Keith said. He couldn’t help himself.

The table fell quiet. Razkha looked like she’d been slapped and Alsa was eyeing them nervously. Lance was on the verge of a panic attack. 

“We… heard about Balmera.” Keith said.

Razkha pushed her plate away looking as repulsed as Keith felt.

“… yeah. That. The old guard held that planet. That’s what happens when you live too long. Awful ideas stick around, and new ones can’t breathe.”

“Lotor will fix it. Commanding officers won’t be able to act like tyrants soon just because they have no oversight.” Alsa said.

Razkha smiled sadly at Lance.

“Try… not to judge us by the worst of our race.” 

They tried filling the dinner with empty chatter after that, but the spark had gone out. Once they’d finished their food, they made an excuse to leave.

“Going so soon?” Razkha said.

“We have to get in touch with our spymaster. We’ve confirmed that Galra girls are… third… fourth prettiest looking in uniforms.” 

“Faint praise, Smith.” Razkha said.

“But honest.” Lance said and kissed Razkha’s hand: “I hope we meet again.”

“I’ll try not to think how many girls you’ve said that before.” Razkha said and nodded at Keith: “Stay safe, cousin, and stay in touch. Maybe we’ll fly together some day.”

“Maybe.” Keith agreed.

“But… try not to be too critical of the Empire. Not every place is as liberal as Velka.” Alsa said and wrote down Keith a phone number: “Give me a call if you want to be a soldier again.”

Razkha laughed.

“Look at you, Alsa. Going on the offensive.”

“Shut up, Razkha.” Alsa muttered.

They waved each other goodbye and went their separate ways. As the walked back to their lodgings, they didn’t say a word. Finally, the silence became too much for Keith to bare.

“Lance… I…”

Lance didn’t answer and dodged on an alley. Where he threw up. Violently. Until all he could do was gag and spit out yellow water. 

“Lance?”

Lance looked up with a haunted look in his blue eyes and wiped his mouth.

“… that was a… terrible idea. They… Razkha and Alsa seemed… nice.”

“… I… yeah.” Keith agreed.

“… guess her uncle was nice too. How many… nice people do you think we’ve… killed? How many have I killed?”

Keith didn’t know what to say.

“… this is war.” He whispered.

“… guess it is.” Lance said and looked at him: “… your mother, eh?”

“… I… Lance… I… you…” Keith blubbered. 

All the things he wanted to say… they were strangling him, and he couldn’t get any of them out.

“How long have you known?” Lance said.

Keith looked away.

“… not long.”

“And when were you going to tell us?”

Keith looked up and wondered if one of the stars in the sky was the Castle of Lions.

“… never. I was never going to tell anyone. Would you? The Galra… Allura… they destroyed her planet… killed her people.”

It was all too much. He was so tired. Keith sat down on the cold street.

“I… I don’t know how it happened. Dad… he never told me and… please. Lance, please. Don’t tell anyone.”

“So… even Shiro doesn’t know?” Lance said.

“… no.”

Lance groaned… and then he sat down next to him.

“Damn it, Keith. Goddamn it.” 

Keith rubbed his face… and realized he was crying.

“… please, Lance.”

“… stop… just stop… stop crying… you’re making me cry too.” Lance said while rubbing his eyes.

Keith couldn’t stop. Neither of them could. They cried together on the sidewalk. People passing them by hastened their steps when they noticed them.

“… we’re making a scene.” Keith sobbed.

“… guess so. We… should probably go.”

They walked away together leaning on each other for support.

“… I trust you.” Lance said and sighed: “… and I won’t tell anyone.”

Without thinking about it, Keith pressed his head against Lance’s shoulder. 

“… thank you.”

They kept walking and despite how sick he felt… there was also a sense of relief. Then a thought came to him.

“Who’s Lotor?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think the show missed an opportunity by not making Pidge non-binary.


	4. Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shaken by the events on Velka, Keith finds himself in opposition to Allura.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Family drama at the Castle of Lions.

Keith couldn’t have been happier to leave Velka when they did. Razkha… just the fact that she existed raised too many questions that he didn’t want to think about. But he couldn’t stop thinking about them. Razkha wasn’t just some outlier. When he looked at the streets of Velka, he could spot dozens of people like her.

People born of Galra and Velka unions. He could even see Galras proudly walking with their Velka friends and families without anyone looking at them twice.

Why wasn’t anyone saying anything?! Didn’t they know what the Galra had done?! How could they explain away the atrocities the empire had committed? How…?

The thought got a bitter laugh out of Keith. 

How? He knew how. Back on Earth his own government had taken part in military operations across the world for… questionable reasons. Sometimes their motives could even be sinister, and everyone had known but… everyone had just shrugged and gone on with their day. Sure. People somewhere far away might have been suffering and dying but it wasn’t their fault. It wasn’t their problem. So… they just didn’t think about it. He’d done it too. 

When they got back to the Castle everyone was there to greet them and Hunk had even prepared a feast to welcome them. Allura was smiling but her eyes were full of disappointment. They had wasted more time to find a dead ally. Still, she smiled and didn’t make a big deal about it.

“Welcome back.” Allura said.

“It’s good to be back.” Shiro said.

They left for the mess hall where Hunk had set the table. Keith had had his doubts about traditional Balmeran cooking but Hunk could do wonders with rocks. 

“This is the best part of every mission.” Hunk said while filling everyone’s plates: “I love coming home and eating with everyone.”

“I love coming…” Lance said and took a sip of water.

The mess hall fell quiet and everyone stared Lance as he drank and let the maximum amount of awkward silence build up. Only Hunk seemed more bemused then annoyed.

“… Home and eating with everyone.” Lance continued after finishing his drink.

“Gross.” Pidge said.

Allura rubbed her eyes. Shiro smiled like a father who had just found his child drawing on the wall. Coran caressed his moustache thoughtfully. Only Hunk laughed.

“Lance… I don’t think I like the side you bring out of Hunk. Why are you two friends again?” Pidge said.

“I was always getting beaten up as a kid for some reason. Hunk was the only one to step in.” Lance said.

“We still haven’t figured out why.” Hunk said with an amused smile.

“I know right? My face is a national treasure. How could anyone want to beat up me?” Lance said.

“I can think of a few reasons.” Pidge said.

“Good thing that not everyone is as smart as you.” Lance said dug in: “Dude, you made the shit out of these rocks.”

“Thank you, Lance. Your gratitude makes it all worth it.” Hunk said.

“Was that sarcasm? It sounded like sarcasm.” Lance said.

Hunk just smiled.

“I bet your new girlfriend would love these.” Lance said and looked at his plate: “Is eating rocks technically speaking cannibalism for Balmerans?”

“She’s not my girlfriend!” Hunk said bashfully: “She’s just a rock I respect very much.”

“I know the feeling. I could never date someone I respect either.” Lance said.

Lance and Hunk laughed. No one else did. Pidge was finding new ways to express contempt with a single glare while Shiro was counting how long it would take until he could send his children to college and get them out of his hair. 

For a moment Keith forgot about Velka and stared at his food annoyed.

Lance never laughed like that with him. Or joked like that. Why didn’t he? Weren’t they friends? He thought… hoped they were. He’d never… really had friends. Lance was his… first friend. Not a colleague or an acquittance but a real friend but to Lance… he was just one of his friends. Hunk was Lance's best friend. He was no one special to Lance.

The thought hurt.

Coran rubbed his moustache.

“A politician on planet Orr made a joke like that once. The war lasted for three generations.” Coran said.

“It made them an easy picking for the Galra.” Allura added.

“Lance, tone it down.” Shiro said.

Keith kept poking at his food. Coran glanced at him.

“Are you suffering from space nausea? If you want, I can make you a traditional Altean nausea remedy.”

“Don’t do it, man. The stuff makes me nauseous.” Lance said.

“That’s how you know it works.” Coran said.

“I was just thinking…” Keith said.

“About what?” Pidge said.

“I… it’s nothing.” Keith lied.

“Doesn’t sound like nothing.” Shiro said.

Keith looked at Lance. His usual smirk was gone, and his eyes were guarded. 

“What… are we going to do with the Galra if we win?” Keith said.

“When we win.” Allura said.

“I… yeah. When we win.” Keith said.

Allura’s regal mask was up but she had an uneasy look. 

“Once Zarkon has been dealt with, we’ll drive the Galra away from the planets they’ve conquered.” 

“What if they don’t want to leave?” Keith said.

Allura’s face hardened and there was the kind of coldness to her eyes that you could only get from losing your planet. Your home. Your people. 

“I don’t care what they want.”

“Maybe we should. Many of them have lived on those planets for generations. They’ve made homes there.” Keith said.

“Those planets have been occupied for generations.” Allura said.

“Many of them have family there. What will we do about them? Razkha’s mother was Galra but her father was Velkan.”

The mess hall fell quiet. They were all looking at him. 

“Keith, who’s Razkha?” Shiro said.

Suddenly Allura looked very tired. And very, very angry.

“Forgive me if I don’t have the energy to consider the feelings of genocidal monsters.”

“If…” Lance said and took a deep breath: “If we’re holding people responsible for their culture’s crimes, we’d all be shot.”

Allura half rose from her seat.

“Are you siding with the Galra?!”

“No! Of course not, but… not every Galra is Zarkon.” Lance said.

Pidge, Hunk, Coran… they all looked nervous. Scared. Shiro just watched and listened with an unreadable expression. 

“If they had done the right thing, Zarkon would never have… been able to do what he did.” Allura said.

She didn’t shout. She didn’t need to. Not with all that cold fury in her voice.

“What should we do then? Blow up the Galras’ home planet to make it fair?” Keith asked.

“If I could, I would!”

A painful silence fell in the mess hall immediately. No one looked more horrified than Allura. Horrified and lost. Lance tapped the table nervously and cleared his throat. 

“Princess…” Lance said quietly: “Nothing good has ever come out of treating people as things. Zarkon has to be stopped but… I won’t help you get even with him. I don’t even want to know what that would mean. I won’t let you use Blue for that either.” 

Allura didn’t even have the strength to look at them.

“That would have been considered treason once upon a time.” Allura whispered.

She stood up like an old woman.

“Thank you for the meal, Hunk, but… I’m not really hungry right now.”

She walked away dragging her feet. Coran stared at his food.

“She… she didn’t mean that.”

Shiro shook his head.

“Coran, you don’t need to explain. None of us can even begin to understand your pain. She has every right to be angry. We won’t judge her for it. We know her.” Shiro said and took a bite of his food: “This is excellent, Hunk. You outdid yourself.”

“… thank you.” Hunk said unenthusiastically. 

Shiro smiled and then turned to look at him and Lance.

“So… who’s Razkha?”

“A cadet at the Galra military academy on Velka. We were trying to get some intel out of her.” Lance said without looking at him.

“Did you find anything I should know about?” Shiro said.

Lance shivered.

“… no.”

“Okay. I won’t push it. Let me know when you’re ready to talk.” Shiro said.

A painful dinner followed. Lance didn’t look hungry but forced himself to eat for Hunk’s sake. Keith couldn’t do even that much. They all wandered off without looking at each other after cleaning the table. After a quick shower Keith stumbled into bed and tried to sleep but couldn’t. He hadn’t had a wink of sleep after meeting Razkha but he couldn’t escape his own thoughts. 

Just a few days ago it had all seemed so simple. 

Zarkon was evil. They were trying to stop him from hurting innocent people. It was simple so far but… what came after the evil overlord was dealt with? Voltron was the most powerful weapon in existence, but he was afraid that this was a problem too big even for Voltron. They wielded so much power as paladins. Would they be able to wield it responsibly? What if… they became another Zarkon without even noticing? 

There was a knock on the door. When he opened it, Lance grinned at him in his paladin gear.

“Suit up. Let’s go for a ride.”

“Why?” Keith said.

“Because I want to do something fun after that disaster. You should try having fun sometimes. You might surprise yourself and like it.”

“Lance…”

“Fine. The Lions aren’t for joyrides. Think of it as… training. We should get to know the other Lions in case… something happens to one of us.”

Keith was quiet and then smiled.

“Okay. Red or Blue?”

“Blue. Wouldn’t want her to get jealous.”

Lance waited in the hallway while Keith got dressed. They walked to the hangar together.

“Thanks.” Keith said.

“For what?” Lance asked.

“For having my back.” 

When they approached the Lions, the Blue Lion bowed its head to let them in. Keith couldn’t quite explain it, but the Blue Lion had always struck him as the most welcoming of the pride. Even the atmosphere inside the cockpit was different from Red’s. It was… warmer somehow. Softer. 

“Where we off to?” Keith said.

“I don’t know.” Lance said and grinned: “Let’s find out. Hey Blue. Can you play the wingman for me?”

In response Blue powered up and blasted out of the hangar on it own. 

“That’s my girl.” Lance said.

“I hope we don’t get in trouble for this.” Keith said.

“Don’t worry. I cleared it up with Coran. It’s good to be the boss’s favorite.” Lance said.

The Lions had been built for travel between planets and soon the Castle was nothing more than a distant memory. The monitors large as windows gave them a clear view to the vast space outside. It could be overwhelming realizing how small and insignificant you were. Less than a speck of dust but it was also comforting. Here it felt like none of his problems and anxieties mattered. The stars forgave everything.

“It’s big. You’d have to be crazy to want to take it over.” Lance said.

“Zarkon doesn’t seem to be playing with a full deck.” Keith said.

“Yeah. Why else would he try to take over something infinite that keeps expanding?”

“I think Hawking wrote that space doesn’t actually expand.” Keith said.

“Wait, wait, wait.” Lance said confused: “Didn’t he say it does?”

“He might have changed his mind. It’s been a while since I read his stuff.”

“You actually read it?” 

“And you didn’t? It was mandatory reading at the garrison.” Keith said.

“I skimmed it.” Lance said sounding a bit guilty.

They stared outside in silence. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence but a comforting one. Some moment didn’t need words… but Lance decided to speak anyway.

“Peaceful, isn’t it? But… I wouldn’t want to be trapped here. Just drifting here. If the Galra shoot me down, I hope I don’t have time to even notice.”

“Lance?”

Lance didn’t seem to hear him. 

“The alternative is just… so much worse. Drifting away helplessly. Counting when you run out of food, water… and oxygen. You’ve probably taken out the cyanide pill but… you don’t bite. Because you hope… against all hope that someone will pick up your distress signal. That you’ll see your wife and niece again. But no one ever comes… and you die. Alone. Scared. Suffocating.”

Lance didn’t look at him, but Keith could see his face reflected off the monitors. It hurt. Seeing him looking like that.

“Lance… if it had been you, do you think Alsa’s uncle would have spared you a second thought?”

“Guess we’ll never know. He’s dead.” Lance said and closed his eyes: “It scares me, Keith. So much that I can’t sleep. I’m scared that we get into another fight and I’ll have to kill someone else’s uncle. Or aunt. Or someone’s son. Or daughter. Or father. Or mother.”

Keith shuddered. The blink of an eye could be an eternity in combat. If Lance hesitated even for a heartbeat because he didn’t see an enemy at the other side of the gun but an uncle… Or an aunt. Or a son. Or a daughter. Or a father. Or a mother. A person with history and family. If that happened… Hesitation would kill him.

“Lance… promise me. If it ever comes down to you or some Galra soldier… promise me, you’ll fight. Promise me you’ll come back.”

“Only if you promise to come back too. Even if it means running. I’d rather have you be a living coward than a dead hero.”

Keith smiled.

“I promise.”

They sat in silence… until they saw it. Even with the monitors toning down the brightness and Blue keeping its distance, it hurt to look at… and even then, he couldn’t look away. Some sights were worth risking blindness. 

It was… a dragon. 

It was the only thing he could compare it to. Its scales shone like a mosaic of stars as it flew through space. It was so beautiful and humbling. It could have crushed the castle of lions and never even notice. Something that colossal could only live in space. In gravity it would be crushed under its own weight. Here it could coil around a planet. 

Lance was half out of his seat and the light had brought tears to his eyes.

“… what… what is that?”

As if he’d been summoned Coran’s face filled one of the screens.

“You two are in luck. That’s a comet wyrm. It was a symbol of good luck in Altea and worshipped as a god in multiple other planets. It travels through the cosmos looking for barren planets.”

“And… what happens when it finds one?” Keith asked.

“It rests and dies, and its scales will birth new life on a dead planet.” Coran said.

Coran invited everyone in the Castle to see the wyrm for themselves. They stared at the symbol of good luck as it shone in the darkness. Like him and Lance, Allura forgot her worries for a moment. Keith didn’t even realize he was holding Lance’s hand and when he did, neither of them cared. Lance gripped his fingers harder.

The moment felt like it lasted for an eternity, but it was over too soon. They sat back and laughed. All of them. Keith had never laughed like that after his father’s death. For the first time in a long time he felt like he… belonged. Like he was home. 

"Blue... thanks for showing us this." Lance said.

After telling Coran that they would be gone for a bit longer, Lance turned off the monitor. He leaned back in his chair.

“I think… I’ll take a nap.” Lance said.

“Yeah. Me too.” Keith said.

Lance told Blue to take them home the long route. They fell asleep side by side and dreamt of the stars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hesitate to leave a comment.


	5. Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The paladins prepare for their next mission while Lotor plans his next move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Lotor!

The security droids surrounding Lotor’s mansion recognized Acxa’s ship and allowed her to land safely. The mansion was built far away from everything but was still heavily fortified. Lotor had never left anything up to chance. The droids led her to Lotor’s training room where he was in the middle of running through a flight simulation. 

Lotor was a master pilot but sometimes his training went too far. He was facing five enemies at the same time and even with all his skills he couldn’t bring them down. The enemy leader was the worst of them all. Impossibly strong and resilient without sacrificing any speed. If the empire had a fleet of ships like that, no one could stand against them.

None of the other ships were as impressive as the leader but still threats in their own right.

The ship sticking closest to the leader was the fastest Acxa had ever seen and it danced circles around Lotor. The bulkiest of the ships hit like an asteroid and didn’t notice or care about damage. The smallest ship had weapons that could have been magic and its abilities were constantly blindsiding Lotor. The last ship didn’t stand out like the others and seemed to be designed for support and covering for the other more specialized ships. A job it did very well. 

After a lengthy dogfight Lotor was able to shoot the support ship down and the training ended.

Acxa waited for Lotor to step out of the training room before she started clapping. She hadn’t told him about her arrival but Lotor didn’t seem surprised. Few things ever surprised him.

“Impressive.” Acxa said.

“Not impressive enough. I won in a way I didn’t plan.” Lotor said.

Unlike his father, who was a titan, Lotor was merely a giant. He towered over Acxa but was slender and light on his feet. He was more beautiful than handsome and had long, thick white hair. Despite the demanding training program, he didn’t smell of sweat and his heartbeat was relaxed. 

Lotor escorted her to the living room where he poured them drinks.

“What do I owe this unexpected pleasure for?” Lotor said.

“Emperor Zarkon has summoned you. He demands your presence.” Acxa said.

Lotor smiled. He had the smile of a man who knew something you didn’t. A smile like that left everyone on their toes and looking over their shoulders. 

“Does he now? I suppose I’ll head over there immediately. Once you find me.” Lotor said.

Acxa looked at him uneasily.

“I could almost swear you’re planning something.”

Lotor just smiled and finished his drink.

“I need your opinion on something.” Lotor said.

One of the screens turned on and Acxa saw…

“… is that…?”

“Yes. Yes, it is.” Lotor confirmed.

She’d heard the stories of Voltron. The most powerful weapon in the universe and the greatest threat to their empire. The stories didn’t do it justice. On the shot footage Voltron destroyed a fleet of ships on its own. All on its own. How could you fight something like that?

“Terrifying, isn’t it? No wonder the emperor doesn’t want anyone to see this.” Lotor said.

“That’s… one word for it. The emperor… he’s been sending our people… to fight that?”

“He’s obsessed. No sacrifice is too great if he can have Voltron.” Lotor said.

Victory or death. Those were the words every Galra soldier lived by. She knew a day might come when her life would be spent for the good of the empire. Sometimes she had spent the lives of those serving under her but… spending a life was one thing. Needlessly wasting them was quite another. 

In the next video Voltron had been split into… five. The ship looked like large cat beasts. Even now no ship could match them. She watched as her enemy faced one of Haggar’s abominations. She studied their skills and abilities. It was a treasonous thought but… she was rooting for them. She had never trusted the mages. At least Voltron’s pilots were facing their enemy head on. 

“Which do you think is the weak link?” Lotor asked.

“I don’t think there is one.” Acxa said.

“Good answer. If you had to fight one of these Lions, which would you go for?”

Acxa watched the Lions. She pondered her answer like her life depended on it. Knowing Lotor it might have. 

“The Blue Lion.”

“Why?”

“It’s… used for support more than anything. It covers up the others’ weaknesses. Fell the Blue Lion and you cripple all of them.” Acxa said.

Lotor smiled.

“Yes. It would be like cutting off their feet.” Lotor said and poured himself another drink: “Inform my father that you didn’t find me. I must have left on one of my expeditions and you’re in hot pursuit.”

Lotor sipped his drink and studied the screen.

“He must be desperate to call for me. Wouldn’t it be a pity if this was the end of him?”

***

Keith stood uneasily in the corner and studied the other partygoers almost scornfully. The Castle of Lions was filled with races and creeds from all over the universe. People they’d helped or who’d heard stories of their deeds. How could they hold a party when there was so much left to do?

Most of their guests had swarmed around Shiro who was looking as relaxed in a party as he did at the helm of Voltron. Was there anything he couldn’t do? He wondered how many lifelong friendships Shiro would have after one night. 

“Keith! My man! Why are you hiding here?” Lance yelled.

Lance walked up to him and stuck a drink in his hand. Keith accepted the drink reluctantly.

“I don’t really like parties.”

“How do you know? You’ve never been to one.” Lance said and took a sip from his drink: “You’re the one who complained we haven’t done enough to gather allies.”

“It just seems… disrespectful somehow. We should be helping people. Not partying.”

“Not all of us can be dark and brooding all the time.” Lance said and looked around: “Besides, we’re gathering intel and creating alliances. You should see the number of fence sitters who are already offering Shiro their daughters. Guess no one told them about Adam.”

“They broke up.” Keith said.

Lance spilled his drink.

“What?”

“Shiro and Adam broke up. Just before Shiro was… taken.” Keith said.

“Oh.” Lance said looking uncomfortable. He finished his drink: “Anyway… one of our guests told us about a secret Quintessence factory. That’s probably our next target.”

“Quintessence?” 

“Yeah. Never heard of it either. Coran called it an energy source.”

Keith nodded when he noticed Shay among their guests. Despite being a full head taller than most of them and built like a… Keith tried to think of a word aside from a brick wall… She was built like a… fighter but looked small and lost. She had an unmistakably warm, pleasant aura. It was easy to guess why she and Hunk had hit it off so well. Lance waved at her.

“Shay! You came!”

Shay looked relieved when she spotted them.

“How could I say no to the saviors of our home?” Shay said and bowed her head: “I also wanted to thank all of you for everything you did.”

“It was Allura who saved Balmera.” Keith said.

“She couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Or you.” Lance said and raised his glass: “You did us a solid one back then. Hunk has been gushing about you non-stop ever since.”

Keith had never seen a walking, talking rock blush.

“He has?” Shay said and looked around: “I… haven’t seen him.”

“He’s in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on the desserts. Balmera didn’t really have those so he had to get creative.” Lance said.

Shay’s gaze dropped on her feet. She smiled.

“That’s a lot of trouble. For one guest.”

“Hunk has always been a thoughtful guy.” Lance said.

“Yeah. He’s even friends with Lance.” Keith said.

“That he is. He should be done in time for the dance.” Lance said.

“Dance?” Shay asked.

“You’ve never…?” 

“The Galra… denied us many things.” Shay said.

Lance downed his drink in one go and Keith followed suit. It was stronger than he’d expected. Being a slave left a little time for fun. Or anything else besides surviving. 

“You should ask him for a dance. Knowing Hunk, he won’t be able to muster the courage to do it himself.” Lance said.

“I don’t know how.” Shay said.

“Easy enough to fix.” Lance said and put down his glass before doing a curtsy for Keith: “May I have this dance, my good sir?”

Maybe it was the drink or just wanting to help Shay out, but Keith took Lance’s hand. After a short tug of war, he was able to take the lead. The garrison had had mandatory dance lessons for formal occasions and Keith still remembered the steps. Shay was scandalized… and excited.

“Do you always… stand so close to each other… while dancing?” Shay whispered.

“The closer the better.” Lance said and smiled: “If you’re feeling bold, see how low you can slide your hand.”

“If that hand touches my butt, you’ll lose it.” Keith said.

“I was actually giving permission to you, but whatever.” Lance said.

People had taken notice of their quick lesson to Shay and Coran jumped the gun on the music. Traditional Altean tune filled the hall and their guests started taking it to the dance floor. Shay noticed Hunk getting out of the kitchen… and her nerves gave out. Lance ordered her a drink and Shay drowned it like a champion before heading towards Hunk.

“That was nice of you.” Keith said.

“What can I say? I’m a nice guy. Besides, what kind of a friend would I be, if I didn’t act as wingman?”

“Keith. Lance.”

Allura had dressed like a princess for the evening and stars seemed to have been woven into her blue dress. Lance did a small bow.

“Princess. You look even lovelier than usual. Did you come to ask me for a dance?”

Allura smiled.

“Maybe some other time.” Allura said and offered her hand to Keith: “Could you do me the honors?”

Keith looked at her surprised and glanced at Lance who stared despondently into his empty glass.

“Yes.”

Allura dragged him to the dancefloor and unlike him, Allura seemed to be at home there.

“I didn’t think you could dance.” Allura said.

“Learning it was mandatory in the military.”

“Is it normal back on Earth for two men to dance together?” Allura said and then smiled apologetically at his expression: “No offense meant. I just know that it gets people… uncomfortable on… less advanced planets.”

“No offense taken, and I wish it only made people uncomfortable. It makes many people angry and scared.” 

Allura nodded.

“What a sad way to live one’s life. Ruled by anger and fear.”

“Yeah but it’s not that bad anymore. In some places anyway.” Keith said.

“I see.” Allura said and looked around: “I wanted to apologize and… thank you. For what happened at the dinner.”

“I… I was out of line too. You lost so much and I…” Keith said.

Allura shook her head.

“I have too many responsibilities to let my emotions get the better of me. Thank you. It is not easy to point out when… a friend is making a mistake.”

Keith smiled… and then noticed Hunk dancing with Shay. Both were clumsy and awkward and took too much space. Neither of them would have wanted to be anywhere else. The sight of him made him smile.

What Lance was up to was less heartwarming. 

Somehow, he’d made it to the dancefloor with three partners. Two aliens who both looked faintly human and one over ambitious Arusian. All three of them were giggling like children while Lance led the dance. Keith tried not think why the sight of it made him so angry. Allura smiled when she noticed the look on his face.

“He has his good points too.”

“Like what?” Keith asked.

“I’m sure you know better than I do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Allura knows.


	6. Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Contact with Quintessence has unexpected side effects.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter takes place after episode ten.

The assault on the Quintessence factory had been an utter failure. They’d lost Allura and failed to do any real damage. Their enemies even had… Keith wished there was a better word for it besides magic but how else could you describe someone manipulating energy with his bare hands while blinking in and out of existence at will? He’d fought a wizard.

And during the fight his hand had been splashed with Quintessence from a broken vial. 

The only mark was a splash shaped scar on his hand but Shiro had been insistent that he be run through every test at the Castle’s disposal. Coran checked him for any kind of infection or poison that might have slipped through the burn. After a while Keith suspected that this was less about him and more about giving Coran something to do. Something to take his mind off Allura.

If that had been Shiro’s plan, it had failed.

The silly Coran. The outlandish Coran. The over the top Coran. The clownish Coran. Keith would not have called him any of those things now. He looked like a man whose world had just ended and in a way it had. Allura was all he had left. That was what Keith couldn’t stand. He hadn’t just failed Allura. He had failed Coran and now he was alone. A pain he knew well. 

Well… not alone. Lance was sitting in the corner trying not to look concerned. 

Finally, Coran told him to get up and get dressed.

“Like I suspected. There’s nothing you need to worry about.” Coran said.

“Well, that’s a relief.” Lance said.

“You don’t seem surprised.” Keith said while pulling his shirt on.

“Quintessence has healing properties. In small doses.” Coran said.

“Does it now? Maybe we should have grabbed a few vials while we were there.” Lance said.

“That… would not have been a good idea. It’s not wise to rely on something that powerful.” Coran said.

Keith nodded and then after some hesitation put his hand on Coran’s shoulder like Shiro would have done. Although unlike him, Shiro wouldn’t have felt awkward and uncertain. He would have said just the right words that made it all seem okay.

“We’ll get her back.” Keith said.

Lance’s grin was unusually dim.

“You know it. We have Voltron. Who could stand against us?”

Coran’s moustache trembled and tears started welling in his eyes.

“Thank you. Both of you Thank you.”

Lance did something Keith was not prepared for and hugged Coran. Coran even hugged him back and looked slightly better for it. Keith wondered how some people could do that. Just… get in each other’s personal space and make it seem natural. Before asking to be left alone Coran told them to get plenty of sleep.

They walked through the hallways in silence.

“So… how’s the mitt?” Lance said finally.

“The what?”

“Your hand.”

Keith stared at the scar. He wasn’t a doctor, but he was sure that scars weren’t meant to be blue.

“It feels… I don’t know. Normal but weird.”

Lance grinned without any real humor.

“You’re lucky we have free healthcare in space, you capitalist pig.”

“You want to start something, you… uh… you commie bastard?”

“Nice. Culturally insensitive without being racist.” Lance said.

They laughed. Not because it was funny but because they had to laugh at something. 

“Thanks for sticking around for the entire time.” Keith said. 

“You did the same for me too when my back was blown open. Sorry I wasn’t there to hold you in my arms for another bonding moment.”

“I forgive you.” Keith said and started out of the window at the emptiness of space: “This… is going to work, right?”

“What? Our genius plan to attack the enemy stronghold head on and pray that everyone who could bring the hammer down is too stunned by the stupidity to do anything about it?”

“You’re bringing the morale down.” Keith said.

Lance sighed.

“Not like we have much of a choice. If it gets out that we lost Allura, we’re done for. We can’t look weak now and… if they make Allura talk… we’re screwed.”

“She’s strong.” Keith said.

“Yeah but… no one can be strong all the time.” Lance said.

Keith agreed. As bad as they had it, Shiro had to suffer even more. He knew better than anyone how kind the Galra were to their prisoners. Not that any of them had it easy. Lance looked ready to fall over.

“You should get some rest.” Keith said.

“You think I can sleep now?” Lance said and looked away: “Keith?”

“Yeah?”

“Ever played baseball?”

“What?”

“Guess not. I’m a pretty good pitcher. At least I think I am. I’m guessing you’re more of a catcher. I wouldn’t mind playing a few rounds with you. We could even switch around if that makes you more comfortable.”

“Huh?”

Lance was quiet for a while.

“You know what? Forget it. Ask Shiro and think about it. I’m going for a swim. See if I can get my head straight.”

“Good idea.” Keith said and watched Lance go.

If Lance couldn’t sleep, he could’ve tried sleeping in his room. He didn’t ever remember sleeping as well as he had in the Blue Lion. Or if Lance wasn’t going to ask, maybe he should. It would be easy. Lance was close. All he had to do was call after him. 

He didn’t and headed to the training room.

_Coward_ , Keith thought. 

He set the three training dummies to the highest difficulty and drew his Bayard. It transformed into a sword in his hand and he got ready for a match. The dummies came at him at the same time in perfect unison and Keith ran around to separate them. Then he charged at the leader.

The Bayard cut through the practice sword… and the dummy. Cleaving both in half.

“Stop!”

The session ended immediately, and the two dummies stepped back while Keith stared at the remains of the third one. What the hell was that?! He’d always been stronger than an average human but this… He’d cut through metal like it was paper. There was a tingling sensation in his hand and when he looked down… the scar had turned a darker shade of blue… and it was growing. 

Sweat was running down his face when he put the Bayard away and picked the upper half of the broken dummy. He started squeezing its head. It took a great deal of effort, but he managed to crush a ball of metal in his hands like it was clay. He dropped the bent head.

“Lance!”

He ran out of the training room without cleaning up the mess he’d left behind and ran to the pool where Lance was swimming laps. When Lance noticed him, he swam to the edge of the pool.

“What’s up?”

“Could… could you come with me?” Keith pleaded.

All Lance had to do was look at him and he nodded before climbing out of the pool. No questions asked. He dried himself with a towel while following Keith back to the training room. The sight of the destroyed test dummy made him stop and Keith started filling a barbell with weights. He didn’t stop until it weighted twice as much as he did.

“Keith? What…?”

Keith picked up the barbell with little effort and Lance’s jaw fell loose. Keith turned to look at him.

“Could you… put more weight on it?”

Lance did and Keith started lifting, trying to find the upper limit of his new strength. 

“More.”

“More.”

“More.”

“More.” 

Finally, he had to struggle to lift the barbell and he sat breathing heavily.

“How much… was that?” Keith asked fearing the answer.

Lance was quiet.

“… Lance?”

“Four hundred kilos.”

Keith nodded. Well over twice what Hunk could lift on his best day.

“That’s a lot.” Keith said.

“Yeah. It is.” Lance agreed.

Keith stared at his hand. The scar had grown a bit bigger. Just a bit but enough for him to notice… and Lance. Or was it a scar? If he started clawing away his skin, would he find that there was another layer of hide beneath it?

“Lance… what’s happening to me?”

“I… I don’t know, Keith. I don’t know but… we have to tell the others.” Lance said.

“No!”

He grabbed Lance and it was only when Lance let out a pained howl did, he realize how little control he had of him new strength. He let go horrified at what could have happened if he had used even a little more force. Lance was rubbing his arm and a deep, dark bruise in the shape of Keith’s grip was already forming on it.

“I… Lance… I’m… I didn’t mean to…”

He expected Lance to run but not before calling him a monster. Lance didn’t run. He just grinned through the pain.

“I know.”

They stood in uneasy silence. Then Lance reached out and touched his scarred hand. He studied it and Keith didn’t pull away.

“It’s spreading and… we don’t know what else might happen. We have to tell the others.” Lance said.

“If they knew what I was… what do you think they’d do? Coran… what do you think he’d do? Or Pidge?” Keith said.

“Then we’ll tell Shiro. He’ll know what to do.”

The thought of Shiro knowing was the worst of it. If he knew part of him was the enemy… part of the race that had used him as a toy for a year… Shiro would know that he’d lied to him. They’d all know and there would be questions of what else he had lied about. There would be the whispers behind his back. There would be one less place for him to belong.

Guess Lance was right, and he was easier to read then he would have liked. He bowed his head.

“Fine. We’ll tell Shiro after this. When we’ve all had time to calm down.”

“… you promised not to tell anyone.” Keith complained.

“This is different. You could…” Lance said before drifting off and then grinning: “You won’t have to tell him alone. I’ll be there too.”

Keith nodded.

“Thanks, Lance.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith, you dense motherfu...


	7. Reflections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Voltron launches an attack to save Allura but things rarely go as planned.

In battle there was only one plan that mattered; don’t let the enemy see you sweating. Never let them know your scheme was blown to bits right out the gates and now you were winging it relying on nothing but bravado and desperation. If you were very lucky it would be enough to lead you to… not victory necessarily but somewhere that wasn’t defeat. 

The original plan had been piss-poor from the start anyway.

Breaking into a heavily fortified fortress to rescue Allura was never going to be easy but Keith still wished it had carried them a bit further before it had to be cut up and stitched back together as a Frankenstein atrocity. The plan was dead and now they just had a goal. Get Allura and get out. How to do that had to be figured as they went along. 

Keith acted as a distraction with the Red Lion and drew Zarkon’s fleets attention to himself. The moment he grabbed the stick he hit that calm state of mind that had made him the best pilot trainee at the Garrison. His superhuman reflexes had helped but it was this feeling that had made him a true ace. He was free of fear and anxiety. All that remained was cold, pragmatic logic as he followed a path only he could see. He knew exactly what he had to do for his enemies to die while he did not. 

He’d never had the heart to tell Lance that it wasn’t something you could learn.

He was faster and better than ever. Whatever it was that had amplified his strength had done the same to his reflexes and the enemy ships might as well have been dragging themselves through mud. The exploding ships looked like blooming flowers… and he hoped that the pilots were vaporized immediately instead of dying the slow death of suffocating in space.

Then he heard a voice. 

_Impressive. I can see why the Red Lion thought you a worthy successor to Alfor._

Keith flinched but didn’t lose his concentration. Where was that voice coming from? It was almost like… it came from his Bayard.

_Very good. The Bayard connects us, young paladin. They connect all paladins of Voltron._

The voice that echoed from his Bayard was deep and strong but smooth with unmistakable authority.

_Come. You deserve a worthier opponent._

Keith didn’t need to ask questions. He just… knew where to look… and saw someone walking on the space fortress’s ramparts. Without a spacesuit or any other kind of protection. That was impossible! It should have been. No living being could survive in the void. 

The monitor gave him a clear view of the figure. 

He was… colossal. Even Shiro would have looked like a child next to him and the dark purple armor just made him more imposing. He’d aged like an Oaktree. The years had just made him bigger and stronger. His skin was grey and scarred but what drew Keith’s attention were the eyes. They glowed with sickly yellow light and in his hand…

“Where did you get that?!”

Despite the silence of space separated them, Zarkon raised the black Bayard like a greeting.

_Face me and I might tell you._

The Red Lion let out a roar… or maybe it was Keith’s own war cry. He lunged forward with full power. Zarkon had been a fool to challenge him. Lance had been right. The man was crazy. Who else would try to fight the Red Lion on foot? He prepared to pin Zarkon down and tear him to shreds. The universe was better off without that maniac in it. When the Red Lion opened its maw, Zarkon swung the Bayard that had transformed into a claymore in his hands.

Keith blacked out.

He came back to when every monitor howled to him about damages and danger while they were thrown back. He was circling uncontrollably, and his last meal threatened to spill out. When he managed to regain control, Zarkon was on to him and a single blow from the black Bayard pierced the Red Lion’s armor. The Lion let out a scream of pain.

Confident laughter filled Keith’s head.

_I am the first of the Galra, boy. I am the conqueror of worlds. I am the vanquisher of death. I am the emperor of the stars. When I order suns to die, they blacken and die. You think you can face me with one Lion?_

Keith didn’t answer. He just roared and unleashed everything he had. Zarkon blocked him almost contemptuously. 

_Such rage but then again… you are Galra._

He hesitated. Just for a moment but it was enough for Zarkon to force him back. The strike left his ears ringing and blood started dripping down his nose. Darkness began edging his eyes.

_Do your so-called friends know what you are? Do they appreciate the crime you’ve committed when you raised your hand against your emperor?_

“Shut up!”

Dead! Zarkon was dead! It didn’t matter if he went down with the monster too if he just could kill him! That beast wouldn’t live for one more minute! Not after everything he’d done! He wouldn’t allow it! 

Zarkon deflected everything he had.

_Are you afraid what they’d do if they knew? How lonely you must be. Why are you fighting me, young Galra, when you could be fighting with me?_

“I said shut up!”

He wouldn’t lose! All his life had been building up to this moment! He wouldn’t fail now! Zarkon would die!

Zarkon just laughed.

_Would your father want you to die in a war you can never win?_

“Don’t talk about my father!”

_He accepted my rule and became my spy on Earth. And what about your mother? Don’t you want to see her? Bow to me and I’ll find her. You could have the family you’ve always wanted._

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!”

Coran’s face appeared on the monitor. Barely contained fear had turned him pale.

“Keith! Fall back! You…!”

Keith cut the connection and continued the fight. He emptied all the magazines on the emperor but wasn’t able to leave a scratch. Why wouldn’t the bastard die?! Why couldn’t he win?! What did he have to do to win?!

_You are not a human being. Killing me won’t make you one. No matter what you do, no one will ever accept you. Except me. In my empire strength is the only virtue that matters and you are strong._

He was running on fumes. On his lonesome Zarkon had done what an entire fleet had failed and tired him out. All he could do now was go for one last desperation attack. 

_Yes. Come. Victory or death. You are a fine Galra._

“Keith!”

The private line between paladins was forced open and Lance’s furious face appeared on the screen.

“Fall back, damn it!” Lance yelled.

“It’s Zarkon! I can finish this now!” Keith yelled back.

“You’ll die, you idiot! Please! You promised! Fall back!”

A promise? Yes. _Come back. Even if it means running. I’d rather have you be a living coward than a dead hero._ There was a moment of hesitation. Yes. He had promised but… it was Zarkon! He… it could end now, and Lance wouldn’t have to fight anymore. He could go home. _I’m sorry, Lance._ It was a promise he had to break. Even if it meant never seeing Lance again.

“Goodbye, Lance.” Keith said.

“No! Don’t you dare! You…!”

Keith cut the feed and turned his attention back to Zarkon… who had let him finish his conversation.

_Ready to continue?_

Keith grabbed the stick.

“… yes.”

_Make it count, young Galra, or my next opponent might be your… hmm… lover._

_How dare you?!_ How did the bastard dare?! How did he dare to threaten Lance?! Keith pushed forward… he tried to push forward. Why wasn’t it working?!

“Red! Move!”

The Red Lion moved. It turned its tail at Zarkon and fled. Keith screamed and cried while tearing at the stick.

_Very well. Run. I can find you anywhere._

“No! Turn back! We have to finish this!”

The Red Lion didn’t pay him any heed and kept flying away from the battle. Behind the tears Keith could see the other Lions running away too. When the fleet tried to make chase, Red sacrificed the last of its power to shake them off. The speed was so great that steering was impossible and when they finally came to a halt, there was barely enough power left to maintain life support… and Keith was hopelessly lost. And even if he wasn’t, he couldn’t move. All he could do was float amidst the stars.

He hit the command board weakly.

“We had him! Why did you run?!”

The Red Lion didn’t answer and just drifted through space. Keith slumped back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. Had Alsa’s uncle being staring at the ceiling of his ship like this? More annoyed then scared? At the start anyway. The panic must have come later.

“You son of a bitch!”

There wasn’t enough power for visual, but he could hear Lance’s voice. Keith shot up in his chair. 

“Lance?”

“You utter bastard! What were you thinking?!”

“Lance… I… are you alright?”

“Oh, now you care if I’m alright! Yeah. I’m alive which is more than I can say for you when I get my hands on you!” Lance screamed.

“Lance… please… can we not do this now? I… I’ll send you my location. Come pick me up and then… we’ll talk.”

The line fell quiet.

“Lance?”

“… I… I was going to send my location to you. I don’t have any power left so… I’m just floating here. I don’t even know where I am and… I can’t contact the others.”

“Oh.” Keith said and for the first-time fear reared its head: “You… you shouldn’t shout so much then. We need to preserve oxygen until the Castle gets here.”

_If it gets here._

He didn’t say it, but he knew they were both thinking it.

“Yeah.” Lance agreed.

Keith sat back and tried to make himself as comfortable as possible. He couldn’t waste any energy. 

“Any word on Allura?” Keith said.

“We got her. She’s safe.” Lance said.

Keith hoped it was the truth and not just a comforting lie.

“Keith?”

“Yeah?”

“… do you want to die?” Lance asked.

The question could have been a needle into the heart.

“… what?”

“You… you didn’t stand a chance, but you just kept going at Zarkon.” Lance said.

“I… would have figured something out. It… would have been a fair trade.”

Lance laughed bitterly.

“You… dumb… stupid… idiot. You think the empire would have gone anywhere? There would have been just another Zarkon who also had the Red Lion. You almost cost us the war.”

“I…”

Keith tried to point out all the ways Lance was wrong… and couldn’t come up with any. If any of the Lions were lost, that was it. The Galra would win. It didn’t matter if they possessed the Red Lion or destroyed it, Voltron would be gone. Voltron couldn’t win a war on its own, but it could inspire others to fight. Without it, they were lost.

“… I’m sorry, Lance.”

“You will be when Shiro finds you.”

Keith tried to laugh.

“You think it would the first time he chewed me out?”

“I don’t think you’ve ever messed up this bad.” Lance said and sighed: “It will take me… a long, long, loooong time to forgive you. You promised to run from a hopeless fight.”

“… I thought if Zarkon died… you could go home.”

“Don’t… don’t use me as an excuse for your death wish and… we’re all going home together. What’s the point otherwise? I won’t let you die on me… or Shiro. You’re pretty much his kid.” Lance said.

Shiro… what would Shiro have done if he hadn’t… come back? Would that be what finally broke him?

“… I messed up, didn’t I?” Keith said.

“You did. It’s a pity you don’t learn from your mistakes. You’d be the smartest man alive by now. Good thing Red is smarter than you.” Lance said.

“Guess so.”

They were quiet for a while and then Lance chuckled.

“Hey, Keith. Want to have race to see whose oxygen runs out first?”

Keith smirked without any humor.

“You’re on.”

“If I win… you’ll have to… cook me breakfast every morning for a month. Wearing nothing but an apron.” Lance said.

He couldn’t help but laugh.

“And if I win?”

“You won’t. I’m the biggest waste of oxygen there’s ever been… but if you pull off that miracle, I’ll cook for you. In an apron. And nothing else.”

“Deal.” Keith said.

Talking helped keep the fear in check and he told Lance everything what had happened with Zarkon. How he’d talked to him through the Bayard. That Zarkon had the black Bayard. How he’d called himself a paladin.

“Guess… Allura hasn’t been telling us everything.” Lance said.

“Guess so… but who are we to complain about secrets?” Keith said.

“Touché.” 

The hours slipped by… and the oxygen levels kept dropping. It was getting hard to breathe and it was making him drowsy. 

“… we should… cut communications… and… sleep… to save… power…” Keith mumbled.

“… yeah…” Lance agreed: “… I’ll… be seeing you… on the other side…”

“… I’ll… find you first…” Keith promised.

Communications went dead and Keith closed his eyes. _Goodbye, Lance. I think I loved you._ With that thought he slept. He had hoped that his dreams would be peaceful as he… drifted away. Dreams of his father. Of Shiro. Of the time spent at the Castle. Of his time with Lance… but his dreams were far from comforting. 

He found himself standing in a throne room built from the carcasses of dead planets and supported by slaves who’d been worked to death. Even death hadn’t released them, and their eyes glowed with yellow light from whatever power it was that animated the dead bodies. 

Above them all sat Zarkon on his throne and Voltron lay broken at his feet.

“I told you there is no hiding from me.” Zarkon said.

Keith drew his Bayard and it transformed into a sword.

“Don’t bother. I didn’t order Haggar to arrange this meeting to fight. I’m here to grant you a gift.”

“A gift?” Keith said without lowering his sword.

“Yes. With this, you’ll find where you truly belong. No need for you to hide anymore. I will finish what the Quintessence in you has started.”

Zarkon just looked at him and the glow in his eyes turned into a pyre. The sword slipped from Keith’s hand. He was burning! His arm was on fire! The blue scar was boiling him alive and then it started spreading like acid running down his skin. It grew past his wrist all the way to his elbow and then beyond. He couldn’t even scream. The pain choked him while he was turned inside out. 

“It is done. No need to pretend anymore.” Zarkon said.

Keith woke up in the cockpit panting and dripping with sweat. Then he saw his reflection and realized he had just woken up to another nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... I guess that secret is out... unless Keith suffocates first.


	8. Searchers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith runs away from home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let the serious canon divergence commence!

Some of the tension in Shiro’s shoulders melted away when the Castle pulled in the Red and Blue Lion. Some of the tension. Now that they’d found Keith and Lance, he had a slew of new fears. Had they arrived too late? Had the Lions turned into coffins? Had he failed again? In the darkest corner of his mind he hoped that if one of them was dead… it wasn’t Keith.

“Coran… status report.” Shiro said.

The world held its breath while Coran scanned the Lions for signs of life. Shiro closed his eyes and nails dug into his palm. Please. Not again. 

“It was a close call, but the life support systems didn’t fail.” Coran said.

Shiro almost fell on his knees. Almost. He managed to stay upright through sheer force of will. He was still the commanding officer and that meant upholding a strong front for the others. 

“Thank God.” Shiro whispered and then said louder: “Get them to the sick bay with the others.”

The Blue Lion opened its jaws to show them its unconscious pilot. The Red Lion did not. Shiro looked at Coran.

“What’s going on?” He said trying not to sound alarmed.

“I… don’t know.” Coran admitted: “Maybe the Lion doesn’t have enough power to open up.”

_Damn it!_

“Recharge it. I’ll get Lance to the sick room.” Shiro said.

He hated himself for leaving Keith alone but at the moment he couldn’t play favorites. He lifted Lance on the stretcher and took him to the space hospital as quickly as he dared. He didn’t see anything serious, but the worst wounds could always be hiding under the skin. 

Allura, Pidge and Hunk were all resting when he got the sick room. The sight of Lance made Hunk shoot up on his feet.

“Lance! Is he…?”

“He’ll be alright.” Shiro said.

Hunk fell back down on his bed on the verge of tears.

“Thank God. I… I don’t know what I’d have said to his mom if he’d…” Hunk said before trailing off. 

Pidge adjusted her glasses. A nervous quirk she shared with her brother. 

“Where’s Keith?”

“He’s okay too but he didn’t have enough power to open the Lion, so we are recharging it right now.” Shiro said.

A relieved sigh floated through the room. There was a crack in Allura’s queenly mask.

“You all risked so much for me. I… I don’t know what to say.” Allura said and dried her eyes: “Thank you. All of you. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it, princess.” Shiro said.

“I will. Believe me. I’ll never let you forget what you did for me.” Allura said and got up.

She walked up to all of them and kissed them on the forehead. Her lips felt warm on Shiro’s skin and left behind a feeling like a… blessing. The sudden gesture of affection made Hunk blush while Pidge accepted it without a word or blink. Lastly Allura knelled down to kiss Lance’s forehead.

“I’m sure he’d appreciate that more if he was conscious.” Pidge said.

“Don’ make this weird, Pidge.” Allura said and then looked at them with great sadness: “If it ever comes down to choosing between me and the cause… defeating Zarkon is more important.”

“We don’t leave anyone behind!” Hunk said.

Shiro and Allura shared a look. Neither were looking forward to seeing Hunk’s idealism crumbling. War made cynics of them all. 

“Yeah. Besides, we can’t fly the Castle without you.” Pidge said.

Allura smiled.

“I suppose you wouldn’t. Thank you, Pidge.”

Coran’s voice echoed through the intercom.

“Shiro… I… Keith is… gone.”

Shiro’s good mood died a screaming death.

“What?! What do you mean he’s…?!”

“I… I recharged the Red Lion and the moment it had enough power to fly… he just took off.”

Shiro’s biomechanical arm clenched into a fist. It wasn’t easy but he managed to sound calm. Hold a strong front. Don’t let your enemies or allies see you sweat. 

“Contact him and prepare the Black Lion. I’m going after him.” Shiro said.

“He’s not answering, and it will take time until any of the Lions can fly.” Coran said.

Allura climbed out of her bed.

“I’ll have the Castle follow him. We won’t be able to catch him, but we should be able to follow him.” Allura said.

“You do that.” Shiro said.

When Allura was gone, Pidge and Hunk looked at him. Both were worried. Scared. 

“Shiro… what’s going on?” Pidge said. 

“I don’t know.” Shiro admitted and then looked at the sleeping Lance: “He might.”

Once the preparations to get the Lions back into flying shape were underway, Coran pulled Lance out of his slumber. Shiro emptied the sick room for a private word with him. Lance crawled back into consciousness slowly and Shiro let him take his time despite wanting to shake him awake.

Finally, Lance opened his eyes. They were unfocused and it looked like he could slip back into sleep at any moment. 

“… Shiro?”

Shiro smiled.

“Hi, Lance.”

“… what…?”

“Everyone is okay. Partially thanks to you. Coran told me that you got Keith to retreat.” 

“… my roguish charm… did it again…” Lance said and looked around: “… is he…?”

“He’s gone.”

“What?!”

Fear almost got Lance up, but he was too hurt for that and fell back down.

“He took off on his own and I think you know why. I need you to tell me what you’ve been hiding from us.” Shiro said.

“… I…”

Shiro summoned some steel into his voice. 

“Lance. I’m not asking as your friend. This is an order as your commanding officer.” Shiro said before softening his tone: “You’re not the only one who’s worried about him.”

Lance lied back and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath.

“… Keith… his mom was Galra.”

Shiro sat in stunned silence waiting for Lance to laugh it off as a bad joke. He didn’t.

“… he only found out when we… got here.”

If Shiro had looked down, he would have seen that his cyborg arm had clenched the arm handle on his chair hard enough to leave dents. 

“I see. And… how long have you know?”

“… Razkha. One half breed… knows another.”

“I… see. Then why? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Lance didn’t answer and just looked at his biomechanical arm. Shiro sighed and rubbed his mechanical fingers.

“Fair enough. Anything else?”

“… Zarkon… has the Black Bayard. He… was the previous Black Paladin. Keith… saw it himself. Zarkon… talked to Keith… through it…”

Shiro blinked and tried not to crumble down in front of Lance. 

“I… uh… okay. This… uh… has been… very helpful. You… you should get some rest now.”

“No.” Lance shook his head: “We need to find him. I… help me up and…”

“Lance. This is an order. Rest now. I’ll get Keith back.” Shiro said and smiled: “This isn’t the first time he’s ran away from home… although the last time he did it on bike.”

“… but…”

“No buts. Sleep now. Keith will be home when you wake up.” Shiro said.

Lance’s head hit the pillow.

“… he ran away… on a bike. That’s… adorable…”

“Yeah. It was.” 

Shiro managed to get out of the sick room before breaking down. Barely. It took an effort to breathe. At the back of his mind he could hear the chanting of a bloodthirsty crowd. _Champion! Champion! Champion! Champion!_ The scar that connected flesh and blood with steel ached. It hurt more than it ever had. Had he been played for a fool? Had he given his trust to the enemy? Was Keith…? Had that little bastard…?

Keith…

Keith…

… Keith…

He stared at his arm. The constant reminder of his gladiator days. Somedays he just wanted to rip it off… and he would have if not for the thought of using it to strangle Zarkon one day. The arm reminded him who the real enemy was. Who truly deserved his ire… and it was not that sullen, lonely boy sitting at the back of the class. That angry kid who had stolen his car on the day they had first met, forcing him to bail him out. 

After calming himself down, Shiro headed to the deck were everyone was waiting for him. Despite being wounded, they had all taken their posts. 

“Well? What did he say?” Coran asked.

Shiro looked at them. All of them. His heart cried out when he looked at Allura. He wished he could apologize in advance for the pain he was about to cause.

“Keith’s mother was a Galra.”

Everyone fell quiet as their minds tried to process what heir ears couldn’t possibly have heard. Pidge let out a nervous chuckle.

“Is… is this a joke?”

“No. Lance has known for a while.” Shiro said.

Allura had to lean against one of the chairs to stay standing.

“If… if that is the truth… we have to find him before he takes the Red Lion to Zarkon.”

“What?! No! Keith wouldn’t do that!” Hunk said.

“And how do you know that?! He’s a Galra!”

“Allura…” Coran said softly.

“No! Don’t you start! We can’t risk the Lions!”

“Princess, I’d like to imagine that I’m a better judge of character then that. Keith is no spy.” Shiro said.

“Then why didn’t he tell us that he’s a… Galra?” Allura said.

“Keeping secrets can become a habit.” Pidge said quietly.

“I’d also imagine he was afraid how we’d react.” Shiro said and looked at Coran: “And it’s not like he’d be the first Galra to pilot a Lion.”

Allura looked like she’d been slapped and Coran’s posture quaked.

“You know?” Coran said. 

“I do now.” Shiro said.

“Know what? What aren’t you telling us?” Pidge said.

“Shiro…” Allura said weakly.

Shiro hoped there had been a gentler way to do this.

“Zarkon was the Black Paladin before me.”

Before anyone could say anything, Shiro moved to the offensive.

“We have kept things from each other. Things we shouldn’t have but Pidge is right. Keeping secrets can become a habit. They’re out in the open now and we will deal them as a team. As adults. But for now, we need to get Keith back.”

“That… won’t be too difficult. He won’t get far with so little power.” Coran said.

“Then I’ll go get him.” Shiro said.

After changing into his pilot gear, Shiro headed to his Lion. The Lion bowed its head to him and Shiro climbed in. He wondered how often it had done the same for Zarkon. What did it say about the Lions that they had considered Zarkon fit to lead the pack? What did it say about him? 

Coran’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

“I’m sorry.” Coran said through the intercom.

“You had your reasons.” Shiro said.

“That doesn’t’ make it right. It’s just… we didn’t want to tarnish Alfor’s memory. It was his inventions that allowed the Galra… to become what they are.”

Shiro didn’t answer and let Coran vent.

“We all trusted Zarkon and… his son was supposed to marry Allura when they came of age.”

“Wait. Zarkon was going to marry his heir to an Altean?” Shiro said.

“The Galra weren’t’ always so… obsessed with blood purity. Zarkon even married an Altean himself. Honerva. A scientist on par with Alfor.”

“Alfor must have been a great man designing and piloting something like Voltron.” Shiro said.

There was a guilty edge to Coran’s voice.

“Alfor was always a better scientist than soldier. I… advised against him piloting the Red Lion but he could be… stubborn.” 

Shiro smiled sadly.

“It was supposed to be you wasn’t it? You were supposed to be the pilot of the Red Lion.”

“I was the next in line, yes, and… I was always a better pilot than Alfor but… it was not meant to be.” Coran said and Shiro could hear him rubbing his moustache: “Bring the boy home. I’ve known too may Galras to blame them all for Zarkon’s crimes.”

“I will.”

What little power Keith had been given, hadn’t carried him far and the Red Lion had landed on a forest planet. The trees stood tall as mountains and Shiro had never seen such a blue sky. The Red Lion stood abandoned in the middle of it all and curious animals that resembled rabbits were studying it curiously. There was an unguardedness to them that only came from never having known predators. Shiro rubbed a few of them affectionately with his hand made of flesh and blood before following Keith’s trail.

Keith had gotten sloppy. There was no attempt to hide his tracks. Which meant he was hoping to be found or too distraught to care.

“Keith?!” Shiro called.

He didn’t see Keith, but he could feel him. The boy was close by.

“I know you’re here. Come out. Please.”

There was no answer.

“I know about your mother. Lance told me everything. You don’t have to hide anymore.”

He didn’t get an answer, but he hadn’t expected to. Instead he heard a gasp and suddenly he knew exactly where Keith was. He looked at a tree covered by a thick layer of leaves and with a running start was able to reach the lowest branch. He pulled himself up and… reflex made him reach out for a weapon. The only thing that made him hesitate were the familiar features on the Galra’s face and the Paladin uniform. 

Keith jumped down, nimbler than any human being and disappeared into the forest. He had never seen anyone run so fast. Shiro stared after him and tried to make sense of what he had seen. Once his hand had stopped shaking and he was sure he could speak without his voice cracking, he took out his radio.

“Coran.” Shiro said.

“Did you find him?!” Coran said.

“I… did. There… there has been a… mutation of some kind.”

“What… what kind of mutation?” Coran said.

Shiro told him. Coran was quiet for a very long time.

“It has to be the Quintessence. It can… change people.” Coran said and stroked his moustache: “You should… you should fall back and wait for reinforcements.”

“Keith is not some dangerous animal. I’ll go after him. He’s tired and wounded. He won’t get far.”

“Shiro… you don’t understand. Quintessence… it can twist people. Make them… something they’re not.”

“Is that what happened to Zarkon?”

Coran didn’t answer.

“Keith wouldn’t want you to get hurt because of him.” Coran said finally.

“Then it’s a good thing he won’t. I taught him everything he knows about martial arts… but not everything I know.”

“This is still too dangerous.”

“I survived the gladiator pits. I think I can handle one angsty teenager.” Shiro said and started walking after Keith: “Wake up Lance and tell him to be on standby. We might need that… roguish charm of his.”

Shiro picked up a brisk pace without running. He left the running to Keith. The more he ran, the faster he tired himself out. Shiro took out an emergency ratio and wolfed it down as he walked. It was a tasteless biscuit that he flushed down with some water. The taste left a lot to be desired, but it kept him full. 

After walking for two hours, Lance contacted him.

“… Shiro?”

“How are you feeling?” Shiro said.

“… honestly? Been better.”

“Sorry that I have to ask this right now. Did Coran… explain the situation?”

“… yeah. Keith is… feeling blue.”

“That he is. I was hoping you could help me with that.”

“… you’re the boss. Just give me… my cue.” 

After three more hours of walking he finally caught a sign of Keith. His body had betrayed him, and even willpower couldn’t push him forward. Shiro walked up to him.

“Keith.”

Keith growled when he noticed him and covered his face.

“Don’t look at me!”

The blue skin, feline ears and yellow eyes had made Keith look more like his mother than his father. But it was still Keith’s face. His expressions hadn’t changed nor most of his features. 

“Keith. Please.”

Keith grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it at him.

“Go away!”

“Not without you.” Shiro said and reached his hand out to Keith. 

Whatever mutation had caused this had also made him stronger and Keith pushed him off despite being twenty pounds lighter. It was only the grip on his biomechanical arm allowed Shiro to cling on.

Keith swung at him. 

It was an angry hit without any real skill behind it and his aim was ruined by tears. Still, Shiro didn’t want to take any chances. Not when Keith had had such a drastic increase in strength. He moved around Keith, letting him spend himself. When it came hand-to-hand combat, Keith was the best after him but… Keith hadn’t survived for a year as a gladiator. The Galra empire had thrown its worst at him and he’d come out alive. Keith’s temper tantrum was nothing after that.

It didn’t take long for him to have Keith in a chokehold. 

“Let me go!”

Shiro didn’t let go and instead hugged him.

“Keith. It will be alright.”

Keith… went limp before resuming his hopeless struggle. He was sobbing while trying to push him off.

“No, it won’t! Look at me!”

“I see you, Keith. I see you.” Shiro said and hugged him tighter: “Lance! You’re up.”

Shiro’s radio came alive. 

“… Keith?”

Keith stiffened when he heard Lance’s voice.

“… Lance?”

“… were you really that embarrassed… about cooking me breakfast? Come on. You’d look… great in an apron.”

“… what?” Shiro said.

“Lance… I… you… Not in front of Shiro, damn it!” Keith complained.

“… you know me… poorly… if you think I’ll pass on a chance… to embarrass you. I wouldn’t have… pussied out.” Lance said before coughing: “Sorry… think I coughed out a piece of my lungs there. Now… get your blue ass back here. I… have something to say to you… that has to be said… face to face.”

“Lance… I…” Keith said.

“… you promised… don’t be a… liar twice over… please…”

Keith could only grind his teeth to that. 

“… passing out now. I like my bacon… crispy… my eggs scrambled and my coffee black… like my men.” Lance said and started chuckling to himself.

The radio fell quiet and Keith’s shoulder shook while he tried not to cry. 

“I’m here. Let it all out.” Shiro said.

Keith stopped fighting… and started crying like a lost child. Which Shiro suspected he was beneath it all. Good God, Keith was only nineteen. He let him cry. Some men prided themselves on not crying but there were times when you had to let the tears flow or you might drown in them. He let Keith cry out the worst of his fears and anxieties. 

It took a long time but eventually Keith managed to calm down.

“We need to head back so Coran can do a check-up on you.” Shiro said.

Keith stared at his new hands.

“How can I go back… looking like this?”

“Keith… you’ve never been a coward. Don’t start now. I’m not giving up on you, so don’t give up on yourself. There are people waiting for you to come back.” Shiro said and smiled: “You’re not alone so don’t leave us hanging either.”

Keith stared at his feet. Shiro put his hand on the boy’s shoulder.

“Let’s go home.”

***

Kolivan had never cared for waiting and Kroalia rushed quickly to his quarters. When she entered, Kolivan was hunched over reports that their spies had sent from all over the empire. Kolivan was an older Galra. Scarred and powerful with a custom-made uniform to show his rank among the Blades.

“You wished to speak to me.” Kroalia said.

“Yes. Our spies have managed to uncover more about the pilots of Voltron.”

“I see.”

“They seem to be from Earth.”

An old pain twisted her chest.

“I… I see.”

“The word is that the Red Paladin is a half-Galra… named Keith.” Kolivan said.

All the training in the world and decades of combat couldn’t prepare you for some things. Kolivan didn’t reprimand her even when her knees buckled, and she had to lean against a wall. 

“What were the odds that your son would join the fight someday? You could almost believe in destiny.” Kolivan said and rubbed the scar running over his eye: “I suppose the time has come for us to offer Voltron our assistance.” 

Kroalia managed to regain her composure.

“I volunteer as an envoy.”

“Why do you think you’re here?” Kolivan said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huh? I just realized that Lance hasn't been the narrator even once despite being the second main character. Weird.


	9. Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Voltron tries to get used to the new Keith.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the impromptu hiatus but finishing a fic you've been working on for over a year is a time consumer.

Once he had returned with Keith, Shiro gathered Pidge, Hunk, Allura and Coran to the bridge for an emergency briefing. Coran was twirling his mustache and Shiro ha began to suspect it was a nervous tick. Hunk wore his emotions and worries openly while Pidge was harder to read which made her the polar opposite of her brother. 

And Allura…

Anger and… a sense of betrayal didn’t even begin to cover it. 

“How’s Keith?” Hunk asked.

“Scared. Confused.” Shiro said and sat heavily in the captain’s chair: “So, nothing new there.”

Allura’s mouth was a hard line.

“Coran told me he attacked you.”

Shiro looked at Coran who almost tore his mustache off.

“We just had a bit of a tussle to sort things out. Nothing I couldn’t handle.” Shiro said.

“And if he attacks someone else? Will they be able to handle it?” Allura said.

Pidge adjusted her glasses and smirked.

“I’d love to see him try. If he starts anything with me, the hard part will be to decide which one of the twenty-eight strategies I’d use to destroy him.”

Everyone turned to look at Pidge.

“You… uh… you haven’t actually planned something like that? Right?” Hunk said.

“I always have a plan.” Pidge said and nodded at Allura: “So, if he starts anything, I’ll deal with him.”

For a moment Shiro’s vanity got the better of him and he forgot about the matter at hand.

“How many strategies do you have for me?” Shiro asked.

“Just one… and I’m not sure if it would work.” Pidge said.

“I see.” Shiro said trying not to sound too satisfied.

“This is reassuring. You remind me of one of Altea’s more notorious queens. She would start conspiracies against herself to always know where her enemies where.” Coran said.

“So, now we have two people who could beat Keith if he went rogue. Which he won’t. I know Keith.” Shiro said.

Hunk fiddled his fingers nervously.

“So… how are we going to handle the whole… turning Galra thing?”

Allura glared at Shiro.

“Yes. How are we?”

“That’s why I called you here. We won’t. For the time being I want you to treat him as you did before. Right now, all questions would be insensitive. We’ll talk about it, when he’s ready to talk about it.” Shiro said.

“Shouldn’t Lance be here for this talk? Knowing him, he’s already asking weird questions about Keith’s new Galra junk.” Pidge said.

Coran twirled his mustache harder and Hunk forced down a snort.

“Give Lance some… a little credit. I think he gets it.” Shiro said and looked at Hunk: “Right?”

“I guess.” Hunk said but didn’t sound as sure as Shiro would have liked.

“Then I think we are done here. Try to get some rest.” Shiro said.

Like he’d thought, Allura stayed behind while the others left. The void of space felt scorching compared to the air on the bridge.

“You must think I’m cruel or paranoid.” Allura said: “But… there are still things we need to consider.”

“I know. Thank you for discussing them privately.”

“We are leaders. That means worrying about things, so others don’t have to.” Allura said and looked away: “Keith is your… son? Little brother?”

“Something like that. I guess you could say I’m his godfather.”

“I don’t know what that means.” Allura said.

“What Coran is to you.” Shiro said.

Allura nodded slowly.

“Our allies won’t like this. Having a Galra in our ranks.”

“I’d imagine so.” Shiro agreed: “That was a brilliant tactical move on Zarkon’s part. A good way to tear us apart. We have to make sure that doesn’t happen and maybe… we could turn this into an advantage.”

“Advantage?”

“The Galra aren’t a hive mind. Not all of them approve of Zarkon. Seeing one of their own fighting him might make them bold.” Shiro said.

Allura considered it but didn’t look convinced it. Shiro smiled sadly. 

“Allura… I can’t even imagine what you’re going through. Your home is gone… your family is gone… but Keith had nothing to do with it. The Red Lion trusts him.”

“The Black Lion trusted Zarkon too.”

Yes. It had… it did. 

“I trust Keith… and I beg you to trust me.” Shiro said.

Allura looked so tired.

“I trust you.” Allura said and turned her sights on his mechanical arm: “I’m not the only one who suffered. They imprisoned you. Humiliated you. Mutilated you. Enslaved you. Why are you so willing to trust them?”

Shiro looked at his metal arm. An eternal reminder of his imprisonment. 

“Do you know how I escaped? A Galra set me free.”

Allura’s eyes widened but she stayed quiet. They stood in silence that was anything but comfortable.

“I suppose… I have a lot to learn about the Galra. Shiro… I’ll do my best to sort myself out but…”

“I know. No need to explain.” Shiro said and smiled: “My offer stands. If you ever need to talk, I am here.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

Shiro nodded.

“And Allura. I don’t think you’re cruel or paranoid.”

Allura smiled as she left him alone. Shiro sighed and rubbed his face with his hand made of flesh and blood. Then he looked at the stars. They helped him forget that the weight of the universe rested on his shoulders. He tried meditation to clear his mind and calmness washed over him. These were one of those moments you didn’t truly appreciate until they were…

The Castle’s computer informed him of a new message.

***

When Keith entered the infirmary, he was afraid to find Lance in an oxygen tent. He’d sounded so awful in the radio but when Keith found him, he was just a bit pale and beaten up. The sight of him made Lance’s blue eyes turn clearer. 

“The liar returns.” 

“… sorry.” Keith said: “Lance… how are you feeling?”

“Like crap and I look even worse.” Lance said and eyed him: “How can you turn blue and still look better than me?”

Keith snorted.

“You… I thought you were… you sounded so bad in the radio.”

“I added it for dramatic effect.” Lance said.

“Now who’s the liar?” Keith said.

“At least I didn’t run away like a little bitch.” 

“Lance…” Keith said annoyed.

“Like a bitch.”

“Lance.”

“A little biiiiiiiitch.” 

Keith started laughing. He couldn’t help it. He’d been afraid of what Lance would say when he saw him but… he was his usual self. His usual annoying self that Keith had more than once considered strangling. 

“Good to have you back.” Lance said.

Keith took Lance’s hand without thinking.

“I’m glad to be back.”

Lance pulled his hand closer and studied it with a smile on his face.

“Will I turn blue too if I hold on long enough?”

Keith winced.

“Do you… think I’ll ever turn back to normal. I can’t go back to Earth looking like this. I… can’t go anywhere looking like this.”

Lance gripped his hand tighter.

“We’ll figure something out. Besides, we have Voltron. We can go anywhere we want.”

Keith smiled and then looked at Lance expectantly.

“What was it that you needed to say to me face to face?”

“… I said what?”

“On the radio. You wanted to tell me something.”

Lance twitched.

“Can’t… can’t we wait for another life or death situation? I’m way more honest during those.”

Keith gripped his hand with all his strength.

“What if we don’t get out alive next time?”

“… Keith.”

“… yes?”

“… you’re breaking my hand.”

Keith let go quickly.

“I’m sorry!”

“Don’t worry. I still have a spare.”

There was a knock on the door and Hunk and Pidge peeked in.

“Lance!” Hunk cried and ran to hug him.

Hunk almost pulled Lance out of the bed when he wrapped his arms around him. Keith stepped awkwardly out of the way but not fast enough. When Hunk noticed him, he pulled Keith into the hug too and much to his surprise Keith found out that under the padding of fat Hunk had a rock-solid musculature. He might have had even more raw strength then Shiro. 

“Don’t ever worry us like that again!” Hunk cried.

“… I won’t.” Keith whispered.

“Good.” Pidge said and patted him on the shoulder: “Good pilots are hard to come by… and you promised to help me find my family. Guys like you keep their promises, right?”

“That’s still a work in progress.” Lance said.

They sat down to chat and Hunk didn’t let him flee. Lance and Hunk did most of the talking while he and Pidge sat in the sidelines. It wasn’t… unpleasant. Was this what it felt like to… belong?

“You actually have twenty-eight strategies to take down Keith?” Lance said.

“For now. I might have to readjust them.” Pidge said.

“How many do you have for me?” Lance said.

“Fifty-four. Hunk has twelve.” Pidge said.

“Wait. I’m easier to take down than Hunk?” Keith said.

Hunk laughed.

“Keep working and you might get on my level.”

“Did you just call me the bitch of Voltron?” Lance said.

“You should be flattered that you’re such a high-priority target. All my strategies are based on you being out of the fight. If you weren’t… workable strategies would drop into the single digits.” Pidge said.

“How do we take you down if you turn evil?” Keith asked.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Turn?” Pidge said and smirked: “I wouldn’t go against you guys… unless there was something in it for me. But if that did happen, just throw Shiro or Voltron at me.” 

The intercom turned on and Coran’s voice echoed in the infirmary. 

“All pilots on deck.”

Keith and Hunk helped Lance into his wheelchair and headed to the bridge where Shiro, Allura and Coran were waiting. Allura gave him a curt nod before turning away and Keith tried to keep his temper in check. Allura had gone through hell because of the Galra but… he hadn’t chosen to be born this way. 

“What’s going on? Are we under attack?” Keith said.

“We have been contacted by one of our allies.” Shiro said: “They want to arrange a meeting between us and a group calling itself the Blade of Marmora.”

“Marmora?” Pidge said.

“A legendary Galra king who was prophesied to return when his people needed him.” Coran said.

“Basically, a Galra king Arthur.” Shiro said.

“Arthur?” Coran asked.

“A hero king on Earth.” Shiro said and leaned back in his chair: “Marmora? Could they be Galra rebels?”

Allura grimaced.

“It would have been helpful if they had made themselves known sooner.”

“Allura is right. Hate to sound like a racist but… some Galra mystery group approaches us the moment we get our butts kicked and are weak? This sounds like a trap.” Pidge said.

“I agree. This seems… risky. But there was another part to the message. Directed at Keith.” Shiro said.

Lance along with everyone else turned to look at him. 

“Me?” Keith said.

“Yes. We were hoping you could make more out of it.” Shiro said: “Coran if you would.”

With the push of a button Coran filled the screen on the bridge with a symbol. A symbol he knew perfectly even if he did not understand it. An exact replica of it had been carved into the knife his father had left him. He had spent most of his life staring at it after dad had died and would recognize it anywhere.

“You know what it is.” Shiro said.

“… yes. Could you… wait for a moment?”

The eyes on his back felt… suspicious? What else was he hiding from them? Could they trust him? Keith tried to push the thoughts away. They were only in his head. What was one more secret to all the ones he had kept? When he got to his room, he caught a glimpse of his reflection. There were no more secrets. 

He took the knife from its hiding place and returned on deck. The sight of the knife made Allura tense up while Coran looked at it with curiosity. He handed the knife to Coran who pulled the blade out of the scabbard and studied it.

“You… you know what it is?” Keith said.

“Yes. A ceremonial blade passed through one of the noble Galra families. One that I thought had gone extinct. The symbol translates roughly to; Fortune favors the bold. Their family motto.”

Family?

Before he knew it, he was yelling.

“We have to go! We have to! They know who I am! They know! They know… about my mother…”

“Keith.” Shiro said.

“We have to!”

“Keith.” Shiro said with a bit more force in his voice: “I will consider it.”

“But…”

“Keith, I will consider it. This isn’t something we can jump into.” Shiro said and out a reassuring hand on his shoulder: “Get some rest and we will talk later.”

“Yeah. Rest sounds good.” Lance agreed.

“Keith will take you back to the infirmary.” Shiro said and looked at the knife: “We will keep the knife for a moment. You will get it back soon.”

“… okay.” Keith said and managed to suppress another angry outburst.

He wheeled Lance out and Allura followed them.

“Keith.” Allura said.

“What?” Keith said coolly.

He couldn’t take anymore passive-aggressive hostility. Not now! Not after everything he had wanted to know was being dangled in front of his nose. He wouldn’t…

“I grew up without a mother too. I am sorry you had to go through that.” Allura said.

The shock made Keith forget his anger. For a moment.

“… uh… I… yeah. I’m sorry too. Thank you, princess.”

Allura nodded before returning to the bridge. Lance let out a relieved sigh.

When they got back to the infirmary, Lance sat up with some difficulty and lied back on his bed. Keith realized he had been squeezing the wheelchair’s handles so hard he’d left dents in them.

“You okay?” Lance asked.

“No. No, I am not okay! I look… I look like a freak! And now everything I’ve wanted to know about myself is being kept from me! So, no, Lance! I am not okay!”

“Look. I know what you’re going through, but we can’t…”

“Do you?” Keith said and laughed bitterly: “Do you really? I never knew my mother! I never knew who I am! I don’t even know if she’s alive! Do you know what that’s like?!”

Lance’s smile remained but his eyes narrowed.

“Do you think if Adam has moved on?” Lance asked.

“What?” Keith said.

“I’m sure Shiro thinks about that everyday but here he is. Doing a duty, he didn’t ask for. What about Pidge? Are her father and brother still alive? How often does she think about that? And me? I have a seventy-eight-year-old grandmother with a bad heart. I brought her groceries twice a week because she couldn’t carry the shopping bags on her own. Hunk is in the same boat as me. Then there are my… nephew and niece.”

“Wait. You’re an uncle?”

“My oldest brother is past thirty. The point is… we’re all terrified for our families and… we don’t know if we’ll see them again.”

Shame made Keith’s face burn. He sat down heavily on the bunk next to Lance.

“I’m sorry.”

“I know you are. Shiro will sort it out. He always does.” Lance said and crossed his hands behind his head: “Galra rebels, huh? You must be relieved. Daddy wasn’t a traitor.”

“Dad was… a hero.” Keith said.

Keith lied back on the bed and stared at his hand. His blue hand with fingertips that ended in talons.

“Must feel weird.” Lance said.

“It does.” Keith said and made a fist: “I keep praying that… I’ll be back to normal when I wake up.”

Lance snorted.

“What’s normal anymore?”

“Normal on Earth.” 

“That might change soon. We’ve made first contact.” Lance said and then rubbed his chin: “Or maybe the only thing that changes is that black and white will finally make peace to gang up on the blue.”

“Grim.” Keith said.

“Just being realistic here.” Lance said and smiled: “It’s not like you’re the only half-breed out there. There’s Razkha.”

“And Lotor. Isn’t it weird? That Zarkon has only one son.” Keith said.

“I know right? That guy totally has a room full of unwilling concubines stashed somewhere in his Fortress of Evil.”

Keith turned to look at him slowly.

“What?”

“What? Zarkon takes over planets. You think he cares that no means no?”

Keith shuddered. 

“Probably not.” Keith admitted and then looked at Lance: “What did you want to say to me? Face to face?”

Lance looked away but not fast enough to hide that he was blushing.

“Keith…”

“Don’t turn into a coward on me now.” Keith said.

Lance didn’t look at him when he spoke.

“When we first met at the Garrison, I hated you.”

“… huh?”

“I hated you. I wanted to be a pilot so bad to show my family that sending me into the Garrison had been worth it but… even with all that studying… no matter how hard I practiced… I could only make it to support. And when I came to you for advice…”

“Wait. Lance… we never talked while we were at the Garrison.” Keith said.

“Oh, yes we did. You just don’t remember.” Lance said.

“I… that’s possible. What… what did I say?”

“That I should quit slacking off and work harder.”

Keith winced.

“That… sounds like me.” Keith admitted. 

“I hated you for that for a long time. I put all that effort in and… I couldn’t get even half the results as some smug dick who barely practiced. All you did was sulk and you still aced every test. I thought you were a total dick.”

“Yeah. Pidge said…something about that. Look… I didn’t mean…”

“Oh, yes you did but… I was wrong… or I was right but you’re not just a dick.”

Lance sighed and stared at the ceiling.

“When I thought Zarkon would kill you… and you almost let him…” Lance said and bit his lip: “Keith?”

“Yeah?”

“This might be the painkillers talking but… I don’t hate you anymore. I think you’re cool and… I…” Lance took a deep breath like a man about to jump into his death: “Keith… I think I like you.”

Keith stood up.

“… what?”

“Like you… I think I like-like you.” Lance said and then rubbed his face: “Oh, God. Just kill me.”

Keith was too scared to move. If he did, maybe he would… wake up.

“Lance.”

“… yes?” Lance said from behind his hands. 

“I… look like this. You… wouldn’t be able to go anywhere with me.” Keith said.

Lance glanced at him between his fingers.

“I say Vol.”

“I… still don’t know what that means. Why don’t you just say Voltron?”

“Because we are Voltron. We can go anywhere. Be anything we want… or did I misread the signals?”

Keith got ready to lie. To say that all the signals had been in Lance’s head. He tried and couldn’t. 

“… no.” Keith admitted.

“Good.” Lance said and took his hand: “And about your looks… if only you could see what I see…”

“Is it my butt?”

“You know me so well.” Lance said and held his hand tighter: “So… uh… do you like-like me?”

“I…” Keith started before snorting: “Yeah. I like-like you too but… You think I’m cool? What happened to you not dating anyone you respect?” 

“I guess… you’ve made me a better man.” Lance said with a grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing motivates me like comments so don't hesitate to leave one.


	10. Negotiations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro travels to meet with the Blade of Marmora.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bet you thought you'd seen the last of this story but this fic ain't dead!

Shiro flew through space with the Black Lion. It would have been simple to let the Lion do the flying for him, but he liked feeling in charge. So many things in his life where beyond his control so he had to take what he could get even if it was just flying by himself. 

While his hands worked, his eyes were free to gaze into the vastness around him.

You would have thought that it would get old after all these years. That eventually even space travel would stop feeling like an adventure and just become another job. Dull and only done to pay the bills but… it never had. The fire that had made him reach for the stars was still burning brightly.

… he just wished it hadn’t burned so many bridges on his journey to get here. 

No amount of meditation and self-discipline could stop the mind from… wandering. Bringing to mind things he’d rather forget. Like Adam. Adam… irritable, not a morning person Adam. Adam who could never remember to take out the trash. Adam who could always make him laugh and cheer him up. Adam who got things done. 

Shiro sighed and stopped fighting the flow. He followed it to the end.

Adam, who had worked in the same institute as him for two years without exchanging more than a handful of words… until they had both taken part in the same seminar. Adam, who had dragged him to the bar to wash down the memory of the worst lecture they had ever heard. How could anyone make space travel sound so dull?

Drinks turned into dates.

Dates turned into something more.

Adam, who had wanted him to cut down on work so they could start building a nest together. They were both past thirty and had made enough money to afford it. It was time to slow down and concentrate on… Them.

Adam, whose heart he had broken when it had become obvious that Takashi Shirogane loved the stars more than him.

There had been times when he had regretted his decision. He really had. Particularly in the gladiator pits but… life was regret. Had he stayed on Earth with Adam he would have regretted it too. Making a choice… meant giving up something else and you would always find yourself wondering… what if you had chosen differently. 

_I’m sorry, Adam._

The in-coming call was a welcome distraction and he answered it with quickly.

“Hi, Keith.” Shiro said.

“Hi, Shiro. How… is it looking?” Keith asked.

There was still some way until he was at the meeting place the Blade of Marmora had suggested but not too far for him to scan it. 

“I don’t see any fleets or ships. A lot of open space so I don’t have to worry about an ambush. Who knows, they might even be serious about this deal they’re offering.” Shiro said.

“Or this could be a trap to take you out.” Keith said before taking a deep breath: “I… still think you shouldn’t go alone. Maybe seeing… one of their own would make them more… reasonable. I could still take the Red Lion and join…”

“Keith, we talked about this.”

“But if you get hurt…”

“I won’t. Besides, I still have to return your knife.”

Keith fell silent and for a moment Shiro thought he had lost contact.

“Keith?”

“Still here. It’s just…”

“I know but you’ve waited answers for ten years. Just be patient for a few more hours.” Shiro said.

He could hear Keith sigh even through the terrible distance between them.

“… okay.”

“Good. Now… how are the others doing?”

***

When Hunk got to the kitchen early in the morning… or what passed for morning in the Castle, he found Lance drinking his morning coffee alone... and he had never seen Lance look so tired. He stood by the door for a moment before grinning and slapping Lance in the back hard enough to make him spill his coffee.

“So… I heard you’re gay now. How’s that working out for you?”

Lance glared at him and his spilled coffee before exploding.

“Why does everyone think that?! Pidge! Coran! The mice! Even my boyfriend thinks I’m gay!”

Hunk was unfazed and just raised an eyebrow.

“Look! Just because my boyfriend is gay, doesn’t mean I’m gay! And no, I’m not being defensive!”

They looked at each waiting for the other to crack. Lance lost it first and started laughing. Hunk couldn’t hold it in long after that and laughed with him. The kitchen was filled with their deep belly laughs. When he could finally calm down, Hunk had to wipe tears out of his eyes.

“Want some pancakes?” Hunk asked.

“Hunk… you monster… you don’t ask someone if they want pancakes. You ask how many pancakes they want. And yes. I do.” Lance said.

Hunk started preparing pancakes while Lance poured them both more coffee.

***

“They’re doing… fine.” Keith said.

“That’s good. And Keith?

“Yeah?”

“I’m proud of you. I’m proud of the man you’ve become. I trust you and I know… that if I wasn’t here, you could lead Voltron.” Shiro said.

“… Shiro?”

“We’ll talk more later. I’ll see you soon, Keith.” Shiro said.

Shiro closed the communications and sighed. He knew he was being cruel to Keith. A nineteen-year-old should not have the weight of the world on his shoulders but… what choice did he have? This was war. He had done his best not to call it that but… that’s what it was. And he was leading children to fight it.

Wars… always had casualties.

If it ever came down to that, he would make damn sure it would not be the children who… died. But that would mean Voltron needing a new head. Coran and Allura would have been his first choices, but Allura was the Castle’s energy source. Losing her would be as catastrophic as losing a Lion. 

As for Coran… under the silly façade lied a seasoned military man. Under normal circumstances Coran would have probably outranked him but… he had never shown any connection with the Lions.

And the other Paladins… Hunk had never had any taste for rank and file. He was a follower and a good soldier, but he was too comfortable following orders to make a good leader. 

Pidge had the brains but not the temperament. She was too much of lone wolf. She wasn’t someone who could keep the team together. 

And Lance… he was still wet behind the ears and… Shiro didn’t like admitting it, but Lance should never have been a soldier. The boy was more of a poet than a fighter. Too much imagination and empathy. Even for their enemies. The fighting was already getting to him. Any more pressure and he would break.

Which left Keith. His poor adopted son. He was impetuous and even more stubborn than Pidge, but he was determined. He had furious charisma that would make others follow him. If only he could cool down a bit and use his brain…

A beep in the monitor let him know he was approaching his destination.

The dead space station had been a Galra outpost when the Galra still had a planet to call their own and had been more invested in being a force for good than conquerors. Time had taken its toll on the place and all that remained was rust and ghosts. The Black Lion landed into the hangar and let out a mournful growl.

“So… you know this place.” Shiro said.

The Black Lion kept a mournful silence.

“I know. No point in wallowing in the past.” Shiro said while putting on his helmet.

Once he had a steady supply of oxygen, he stepped out the Lion and sent it to fly around the station. He gripped the knife Keith had given him and left to meet the Blade of Marmora. 

He didn’t have to go far. They were waiting for him at what looked like a mess hall. A man and a woman Galra.

The man was tall and imposing with a scarred visage and a uniform that showed off his rank. Had he been born on Earth; his chest would have been covered in medals. 

The woman was almost as tall as Shiro and lean as a whip. And… she looked so much like Keith. His transformation just made it all the more obvious. 

“You have come.” The male Galra said.

“You did invite me. I am major Takashi Shirogane. The Paladin of the Black Lion and the leader of Voltron.”

“I know who you are, Black Paladin. I am Kolivan. The leader of the Blade of Marmora.” Kolivan said and looked at him dismissively: “I thought you’d be taller.”

“Unlike the Galras, Voltron knows that size doesn’t equal strength.” Shiro said.

Kolivan threatened to smile at that.

“Perhaps you’re not so small after all.” Kolivan said and looked at the female Galra: “This is Kroalia. I believe you have something that belongs to her clan.”

In response Shiro took out Keith’s blade and Kroalia drew hers. An exact replica of the one he was holding.

“… I was hoping Keith would be here.” Kroalia said.

Whatever suspicions he’d had about Kroalia and her relation to Keith, were gone. She knew his name… and the way she said it… 

“We had to make sure this is not a trap.” Shiro said.

“A wise decision. What would you have done if it was?” Kolivan said.

“I would deal with it.” Shiro said.

“Alone?” Kolivan said.

“My Lion is always close.” Shiro said.

“I can’t say the same for your Bayard. Where is it?” Kolivan said.

“We both know who has it.” Shiro said.

“I fear we do. Which means Zarkon still has sway over the Black Lion.” Kolivan said.

They stood in silence, waiting for the other to make the first move. Kroalia was standing very still… much like Keith did when he was getting impatient. 

“Paladin.” Kolivan said finally: “I called you here to form an alliance between the Blade of Marmora and Voltron, but your blade is in the hand of our enemy. This is a problem.”

“And how do you suggest we solve it?” Shiro asked.

“Kolivan…” Kroalia pleaded. 

“Kroalia, we do not ally with weaklings. Victory or death. Paladin, are you prepared to prove your worth?” Kolivan said.

“If necessary.” Shiro said.

“Then draw your blade. Prove you’re a man of mettle.” Kolivan said.

Shiro pulled Keith’s knife out of its scabbard. Kroalia’s face hardened but she made no move to stop what was to come. 

Kolivan drew his blade and attacked.

Like most Galras, Kolivan was fast on his feet despite his size and he hadn’t let leadership dull his skills. Bigger. Stronger. Faster. More experienced. Had Shiro been a betting man, he would have admitted that it didn’t look good for him. He was barely able to get out of the way when Kolivan tried to cut off his oxygen. 

Kolivan was a better soldier than him… and that was why he would lose. 

Soldiers fought as part of a unit. If they had been multiplied tenfold and made to fight as teams, Kolivan would have won every time but they hadn’t been. They fought one on one and Shiro hadn’t been just a soldier in a long time. He had been forced to be a warrior in the gladiator pits. He had been forced to fight alone with only his skills to rely on. 

And his skills had made him the Champion.

Now, he was back in the pits and Kolivan was just another beast for him to take down. Kolivan’s strength and speed were nothing compared to the monsters he had faced there. Shiro watched him. Studied him. Learned his strengths. His weaknesses. He knew his own and when he had figured out Kolivan’s they could fight one on one anytime and he would come out victorious every time. 

When he had seen enough, he stepped past Kolivan’s defenses and took away his knife. Then he turned Kolivan’s size and strength against him. When he threw Kolivan over his shoulder and slammed him into the ground with both of there weight behind it, the light went out of Kolivan’s eyes for a moment. When the spark returned, Kolivan found his own knife on his throat.

“I see… why they called you Champion.” Kolivan said and bowed his head: “Will you kill me?”

Shiro put down the knife and stepped back.

“We have few allies as it is.” Shiro said.

Kroalia smiled.

“You are the true Paladin after all. I trust you are satisfied Kolivan.”

“Satisfied? That was no way to treat an old man.” Kolivan said while getting up: “You almost snapped my spine.”

“I knew you could take it.” Shiro said.

“No need to compliment me anymore.” Kolivan said and saluted him: “We are ready to negotiate. I suppose you would feel more at ease at your Castle.”

“Not so fast.” Shiro said: “I’m still not sure if I trust you… and I’m not the only one. If you enter the Castle, you will enter as prisoners.”

Kolivan and Kroalia looked at each other and an entire conversation could fit into that single look. 

“This is not what I had in mind.” Kolivan said: “I am a soldier of Marmora. I do not go anywhere in chains.”

“Those are my terms.” Shiro said.

“Then I’ll go.” Kroalia said and stepped forward: “I’ll be your prisoner.”

“We do not…” Kolivan began but before he could finish, the station was filled with light.

It was so thick, Shiro could almost taste it and it shone through his armor. For a moment he thought this was a trap but Kolivan and Kroalia seemed as surprised as he was. When the light passed and his eyes worked again, he saw it.

The last time he had only caught a glimpse of it on a monitor and that was no way to witness its true beauty. The comet wyrm that passed the abandoned station could coil around a planet and its scales were a mosaic of stars. He had never seen anything so… beautiful and terrifying. All they could do was stare in awe. 

When the comet wyrm finally passed them by, they were left shaken. Kolivan was the first to regain his composure. 

“As signs go… that was a bit heavy handed, but I suppose I would have to be an utter fool to ignore the god of good luck. Very well, Paladin.” Kolivan said and offered his hands: “Bring out your chains.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time... dramedy at the Castle of Lions and maybe Lance will put the moves on Kroalia. And by maybe I mean definitely.


	11. Sorrows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kroalia meets the Paladins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How's the lockdown treating everyone. Hopefully the cabin fever isn't hitting you as hard as it is kicking my ass. You would not believe what I would do for some toilet paper.

Keith watched Lance sleep and it looked like he slept peacefully for the first time in weeks. He had dropped most of the face cream after Keith had complained about the smell, but he still wore the sleeping mask and had told Keith to get one himself. Keith had promised to think about it… and he actually had. There was new appeal to sleeping in. He had used to hate just lying in his bed doing nothing but now that he had someone to sleep with, he did not want to leave. 

So many things had changed.

He looked at his hand. His blue hand with fingers that ended in talons. What bothered him was… how it didn’t bother him. For the first time in his life he felt at home in his own skin. His younger self would have called this validation. The reason he had always been standing outside… away from everyone else was because… he was different from everyone else. He was… special.

Keith wished he could have told his younger self that he was less special than he thought and the reason he was always alone was because he was… as Pidge put it… kind of a dick. And that’s all he would have ever been without Shiro. 

Shiro… Lance… Pidge… Allura… Coran… even Hunk… they all had their own problems… and they had all dealt with them with more grace than he had. They hadn’t used others to vent… except Allura but he had forgiven her for that… and Pidge but no one was perfect. 

“… do you know… how creepy it is having you stare at me while I sleep?” Lance said drowsily. 

Keith blushed.

“How long were you…?”

“For a while now.” Lance said and pushed the sleep mask on his forehead: “I was curious how long you could play this watch but don’t touch game.”

Keith groaned.

“Do you really have to wear that dumb thing in bed?”

Lance grinned and Keith spotted some stubble on his sharp chin.

“Dumb? Baby, this is the greatest invention since toilet paper.”

“If we get attacked when we sleep, I can’t have my vision imbedded even for a second.” Keith said and tried to get up: “We should…”

Lance pulled him back to bed.

“Sleep. We should sleep. Maybe build a pillow fortress.”

Keith let himself be dragged back under the covers.

“Lance?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you… think this is a bad idea?”

“No one cares if we sleep in on our day off.” Lance said.

“Not this. I mean… this. At the Garrison we were warned not to… get intimate with fellow soldiers.”

Lance waved his hand annoyed.

“Yeah, yeah. Getting emotionally compromised and all that. You already get that when you drag punch of half-baked trainees to fight your space war. Anything that allows me to keep going is a plus in my book.”

“So this isn’t… good? But it is necessary?” Keith suggested.

“Give happiness a chance. You might like it and if you ever start wondering if this is normal, just remember. Ninety-five percent of giraffe sex is between dudes.” Lance said.

Keith turned to look at him slowly.

“What?”

“Giraffe is the gayest of all animals. I read that on the internet so it must be true.” Lance said.

Keith snorted.

“Or maybe giraffes just can’t tell the difference between males and females.”

“Ooh, that’s a good one. I’ll have to use that excuse when I introduce you to my parents.”

Keith tried to playfully suffocate Lance with a pillow while he laughed… and then the alarm went off. 

“All Paladins gather in the hangar.” Coran said through the intercom. 

They moved fast. They had their orders and they leaped out of the bed and started pulling on their combat uniforms. Keith had always prided himself for his speed that had only increased after the mutation, but he only beat Lance by a few heartbeats. They rushed to the hangar where Allura and Coran was already waiting for them. Pidge and Hunk followed soon after. 

It didn’t take long for the Black Lion to fly into the hangar. Despite being heavy enough to knock over tanks by accident, Shiro made the landing graceful. Ten out of ten with a cherry on top, Lance would have probably said. Keith wouldn’t have been surprised if he was thinking about it. 

When the Black Lion opened to let Shiro out, he didn’t come alone. He was followed by two Galras in chains that they could have easily snapped but chose not to. The male Galra was broad and rugged with a fierce facial scar while the female…

The bottom of Keith’s stomach fell out.

Lance’s eyes darted between him and the female Galra before muttering loud enough only for Keith to hear.

“Well… shit.”

***

At the back of her mind Kroalia conceded that it all had to look like a scene from a fairytale. Being greeted by the princess of a dead race in the presence of the most powerful weapon in the universe. Even the flimsy handcuffs shouldn’t have taken away from it but… it was all wasted on her. Al se had eyes for was her son… who wouldn’t meet her gaze. She could see herself in Keith… mixed with Trevor.

Trevor…

… she had tried so hard not to think about him in the past seventeen years… but now it made her choke.

She managed to regain self-control and lowered her head to greet the princess.

“At your service, your majesty.”

The princess gave her a curt smile. She didn’t much care for her. Kroalia could smell it from the princess… but Kroalia didn’t blame her for it. The princess was pushing her personal feelings aside to do her duty. Kroalia could understand… and sympathize as a Galra. 

“Welcome to my castle.” The princess said.

The princess and her head advisor led them away with the Black Paladin in tow. Unlike his princess, the head advisor seemed like the genuinely affable sort. 

“If you wish to freshen up a bit before the negotiations, we have quarters prepared for you.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Kolivan said and looked at the princess: “I am ready to begin. Waiting would just waste lives.”

“Very well.” The princess said and looked at Kroalia: “Will she be joining us?”

“No. I brought her here as a favor. If you wish to speak with the Blade of Marmora, you speak to me.” Kolivan said.

“I see. Coran. Show her to her room.” The princess said.

The head advisor… Coran bowed.

“As you wish, princess.”

The Black Paladin nodded to her when he passed her by. The polite gesture was responded in kind. 

“Why don’t you come with me?” Coran said.

Coran led her through the castle while humming to himself until they arrived at a guest room… that looked more comfortable than the quarters even their commanding officers had. 

“I don’t think we’ll be needing these anymore.” Coran said and opened her cuffs: “This should have everything you need to make yourself comfortable. The baths and the kitchens are further down the hallway. I hope you’ll make yourself feel at home.”

Kroalia rubbed her wrists.

“I can just go anywhere I like? Do you treat all your prisoners so well?”

Coran stoked his mustache. A habit Kroalia found endearing. 

“You’re not a prisoner. You’re our guest and the Castle us quite capable of keeping our guests safe… and us safe from our guests.”

“Point taken. Thank you, Coran.” Kroalia said and looked at her room: “Would it… be possible for me to meet… the Paladins?”

“We’ll be having dinner together later this evening but I’m sure you’ll have no problem finding them roaming around here.” Coran said and bowed to make his leave: “Let me know if you need anything.”

After memorizing the room’s layout for suitable cover spots incase of a firefight and taking in the smell, Kroalia decided to make use of having free range of the Castle. Guest or not she still needed to collect intel, but it was best to be discreet about it. She had no doubt she was being watched and that there were protocols in place to deal with her if she was deemed a threat. 

But today… she had her own reasons to be here.

It was a strange thought. It had been… so long since she hadn’t acted on orders but for personal matters. Not since that day she had been stranded on Earth. Her ship had been too badly damaged to be repaired leaving her adrift and alone. Terrified. Few things were more terrifying than freedom.

Then there had been Trevor.

It had been sweet. Hiding in his family’s ranch and then turning it from a hiding place into a home. If the enemy hadn’t found her, she didn’t doubt she would still be there. Raising her son… children. With Trevor. Maybe… she still could. What would she say to Trevor when… if she saw him again? Come live with me and be my love? Could two people just… pick up from where they left off?

What would she say to Keith?

She had tried not to think of her son in the past eighteen years. It had been easier that way but… a small part of him had always been calling for her. And now Keith was here. Was this a reward for her patience and struggles… or her punishment? 

She was pulled out of her thoughts when she smelled something delicious. A mixture of spices, vegetables and meat all mixed in thick cream. Unable to help herself she followed the trail to the kitchen. 

The kitchen was spotless despite the obviously heavy use. She supposed it was all thanks to the cook. The Yellow Paladin was one of those men who was so heavily muscled that he looked pudgy at first glance, but his thick feet were tree stumps and you could have broken stones against the rotund stomach. He had the arms of a powerlifter, but he still handled the knife daintily when he chopped vegetables.

When the Paladin spotted her at the doorway, they stared each other for a moment unsure what to say.

“Uh… hi?” The Paladin said finally. 

Kroalia nodded.

“Hi.”

The silence couldn’t have been more awkward, and they just stood there waiting for the other to say something. They might have waited until judgement day if the timer on the oven hadn’t gone off.

“Sorry.” The Paladin said and quickly put on mittens before taking a black iron pot out of the oven.

The smell was intoxicating when he took off the lid.

“Good timing. I was hoping to get a Galra’s opinion on the main dish.” The Paladin said.

Kroalia looked at the food and then at the Paladin.

“You made this for us?”

“Well…” The Paladin said and blushed: “We’re supposed to work together, right, and… I know things are a bit awkward. It’s easier to get to know people over dinner and… my grandma always said that it’s hard to be angry with a full stomach.”

“Good thinking.” Kroalia said and smiled: “I’m Kroalia.”

“Hunk.” The Paladin said and pointed at the food: “Would you mind…?”

“None at all.”

Hunk got them both plates and served samples of the main dish. It was a bold choice. The taste was strong but not intrusive and went down easily. The meat was soft while the vegetables had retained their texture. A recipe the young man obviously knew well and loved. 

“It’s excellent.” Kroalia said and wished she could have asked for more. 

Hunk was practically beaming.

“I’ll be sure to let my grandma know. She loves it when new people try her cooking.”

They chatted for a while and let the conversation lead her without intrusive questions. You could learn a lot about someone just by listening. Hunk loved his grandmother and had helped her to cook for the whole family after school. He had an eye for detail and had no problem following orders. He was also… unaffected by the war he had been recruited to fight. The bad things just washed over him without marking him.

Loyal. Obedient. Sturdy. A prime example of a soldier.

“I’m looking forward to dinner, Hunk.” Kroalia said before making her leave.

“Likewise.” Hunk said.

When she walked out of the kitchen, she found a young man… no. A young woman waiting for her. She had a small and slender build that would make her fast on the battlefield. The eyes behind the glasses were sharp and cunning… but her hair was just long enough to grab.

“Kroalia, right?” The Green Paladin said.

“Were you spying on me?”

The Paladin just smiled.

“I have my ways. People call me Pidge.”

“Do they? What’s your real name?”

“If you knew that, you’d be as smart as I am.” Pidge said and then looked around: “Why don’t we find a place to sit? I want to ask you a few things.”

They took over one of the many rooms of leisure in the Castle. Part of her despised the luxury that the Paladin lived in. It would make a soldier soft but another part of her was happy that there was nothing that Keith lacked. When they sat across each other the light reflected from Pidge’s glasses and it felt like she was talking to a machine. 

“You know… I’d heard whispers of you.” Pidge said: “A rebellion inside the Galra but I could never find anything concrete. I’m guessing the Blade is divided into cells that work individually.”

“Where did you hear these whispers?” Kroalia asked.

Kroalia adjusted her voice just to the right level of curiosity and flattery to stroke Pidge’s ego. If she had to take a guess at the Green Paladin’s weakness, it would be the need to show just how smart and capable she was when it might be the best to keep your mouth shut and play dumb.

She took the bait.

“I’ve managed to intercept a number of messages from the Galra rank and file. I’ve also wormed my way into some private message boards.”

Kroalia smiled.

“I think I see why you’re the second most feared Paladin among the Galra.”

Pidge adjusted her glasses.

“Am I now?”

“They say you’re a sorcerer who can control nature and technology.”

“A technomancer then? I like it.”

“I’m sure you do.” Kroalia said: “It feels almost like cheating that you also control one of the most powerful weapons in the universe.” 

“The Galra have a ten-thousand-year head start. Whose really cheating here?” Pidge said and leaned closer: “Well? Was I right?”

“On the mark. It’s the safest way to fight a stronger opponent.”

An ugly edge flashed in Pidge’s grin.

“It must be hard for you. I know how big you Galras are on honor and all you can do is sneak around.”

Kroalia just smiled. This was a diplomatic mission after all.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to do more than just sneak around now.”

“Hopefully.” Pidge said and took off her glasses.

Behind the glass curtain… was a worried kid. Pidge might have cast a large shadow but… she was so small. Kroalia couldn’t help but feel something… motherly. An urge to protect. 

“I’ve heard… that you save prisoners from the Galra.”

“Whenever we can.” Kroalia admitted.

“You… wouldn’t happen to have… a list?”

“I’m guessing you’re looking for someone in particular.” Kroalia said.

Pidge averted her eyes.

“My… father and brother.”

_Oh, you poor kid._

“Are they like you? Technomancers?” 

Pidge nodded.

“That would make them high-priority prisoners. Even if we haven’t saved them, they would be treated well.”

It wasn’t much but it was something. Pidge could take some comfort in knowing that her family was most likely alive and in one piece. Kroalia would have liked to keep talking but after getting what she needed, Pidge walked away but even that revealed something about her.

_Officer material_ , Kroalia thought to herself.

Cunning. Goal oriented. Ruthless. Not the most charismatic but results would more than make up for that. 

Kroalia continued her search for Keith through the Castle trying to catch his scent… and wondering if she should wait for Keith come to her. Whatever her reasons may have been she had still walked out on her son. Maybe… he needed time to think.

But it might also look like she was avoiding him.

No matter what Keith thought of her, she had to let him know that he and Trevor had never been far from her thoughts and when he was ready… she would be here. 

Then she caught the whiff of him. It was faint and mixed with the stench of chlorine. Kroalia steeled herself and followed the trail to the pools. She had never much cared for pools with their oppressive smells and wondered how Keith could put up with them, but she soldiered on. 

Not that it mattered. 

The young man swimming wasn’t Keith. 

The Blue Paladin was lean and fit with brown skin. His back was a mess of pink scars shaped like the wings of a butterfly. He waded through the water like a fish and he almost looked like he was flying. There was something beautiful about seeing someone practice a craft that had become second nature to them. 

But why was the Blue Paladin’s scent mixed with her son’s? After a while, all soldiers serving together caught echoes of each other’s scent, but this was different. Almost like the Blue Paladin and Keith smelled the same. It had been the same for her Trevor after living and sleeping together for a few weeks but that would mean…

_Oh._

It wasn’t… uncommon. Unusual bonds were formed between fellow soldiers when they faced life and death together. There was even a joke that when you sent people for a mission in deep space, forty soldiers would go in and twenty couples come out. But it was still a shock to the system. In her mind Keith was still just a toddler. 

The Blue Paladin had stopped swimming and stood up in the pool the water reaching all the way to his chest. Despite being so young he already had the promises of lines around his eyes and mouth from smiling and laughing too much but they just made him seem friendly and welcoming. He flashed her a boyish grin.

“Hello.”

Kroalia nodded.

“Greetings, Paladin.”

The Paladin swam to the edge of the pool and pulled himself out. Water had glued his hair tightly against his scalp.

“No need to be so formal. Call me Lance.” The Paladin said and opened a bottle of water: “If you’re looking for Keith… well, good luck with that. He’s sulking.” 

“I’m Kroalia… and why do you think I’m looking for… the Red Paladin?”

Lance looked at her with eyes that knew the truth. 

“So… you know.” Kroalia said.

“I’m perceptive like that and I know Keith well.” Lance said.

“I’m sure you do.”

Lance started drying his hair to hide that he was blushing. Kroalia took off her shoes and let her feet soak in the water while Lance collected himself.

“No need to be embarrassed. Life is short. I’m glad he has found someone.” Kroalia said. 

“Lady… life is way longer than you realize if you make bad choices.” Lance said.

“Not in our line of work.” Kroalia said and looked at the pool: “The last time I saw this much water was on Earth.” 

“Care to join me for a dip?” Lance said.

“Don’t test your luck, Paladin.” Kroalia said.

“It has worked well for me so far.” Lance said before his voice lowered: “Look… about Keith…”

“What’s he like?” Kroalia asked.

“Hmm?”

“My son. What is he like?”

Lance rubbed his sharp chin while thinking about it.

“Moody. Sullen. No sense of humor. Always running away from his problems. He might have a death wish.” Lance said and snorted: “And… uh… he’s probably the most amazing person I have ever met.”

Kroalia splashed her feet in the water.

“Is he now?”

“Don’t tell him I said that. He has enough piss in his head as is.” Lance said and sat next to her but made sure to keep a polite distance: “If you want, I can help look for him.”

“I’d appreciate that, Lance.” Kroalia said and let the water wash away the dirt between her toes: “Mind if I sit here for a moment?”

“None at all. It’s a free country.” 

From the corner of her eye Kroalia spied on Lance and tried to figure out what kind of a man he was. Hunk was the ideal soldier. Pidge was well on her way to becoming a commanding officer. The Black Paladin… he was already a legend and if he lived long enough, he would be one of the giants in history. But what kind of a man was her son’s… lover?

The Blue Paladin lived in the shadow of his teammates. The unseen sniper. He didn’t look like a sniper up close. He had the smile of a boy but his eyes… were sad. It was a new sadness and it was growing like a cancer. In time it would kill him. She had seen that sadness before. When she was still a good, loyal Galra training to serve Zarkon, her drill sergeant had pulled everyone with eyes like that out of line…

… and have the other cadets beat them to death to teach everyone the cost of weakness. Soldiers like Lance would always hesitate when pulling the trigger. No matter how much they were conditioned… some part of them would always be whispering to them that the enemy was a living being with a family and a life.

Or maybe Lance was just homesick.

“You did us all a great service a few months ago.”

“Did I now?” Lance said.

“Yes. You took out one of the great heroes of the Galra outside Velka.”

Lance… fell still and his cheek started twitching. All Kroalia’s fears were confirmed. The sadness wasn’t just homesickness. Under the jovial façade, Lance was breaking down. 

“Did he… have a niece training there?” Lance said quietly.

“I wouldn’t be surprised.” Kroalia said and looked at him: “Does it bother you?”

Lance didn’t answer and Kroalia sighed. Torture had never been her passion.

“We should split up. If you find him… tell Keith that… I want to talk and… I’ll be waiting.”

When she walked past him, she stopped and put her hand on his shoulder.

“You’re a good man, Lance.”

“… Kroalia… Mrs. Kroalia?” Lance called after her.

“Yes?”

“Before you meet Keith… I… you should know that… his father…”

A knife was plunged in Kroalia’s heart and an invisible hand twisted it in the wound. Trevor? No. Oh… no. Not Trevor. Her mouth was so dry when she spoke that the words barely came out. 

“He… how did he…?”

“There was a fire and he… tried to save people.”

Kroalia stood still and her claws dug their way deep into her palms. She didn’t make a sound or let tears out. Trevor… oh, Trevor… that brave… foolish man. It… it made sense. He had come to the rescue of someone like her. He would never have hesitated to throw himself into the fire if someone needed his help. 

When she was sure that she had mastered herself again, she nodded.

“Trevor was a good man.” She said simply.

Before Lance could say anything else that would break her heart all over again, she left. She didn’t trust her face not to crumble and she hurried back to her quarters. If Keith didn’t want to be found… she wouldn’t find him… and she was in no condition to see him now. 

_… Trevor… goddamn it, Trevor… I guess… we won’t be living together in that ranch anymore._

How alone had Keith been? First, she had left him for the greater good… and then Trevor had done the same. They had both left their son alone. Where had she gone wrong? What decision she should have made instead to avoid this?

Kroalia let herself cry and was relieved that she still knew how. 

When her tears had dried, all she could do was wait. She sat down to meditate and put to words everything she had found out.

The Black Paladin… a living legend.

Hunk… the good soldier.

Pidge… the future officer.

Lance… a dead man walking. 

Trevor…

She pushed Trevor out of her mind. Not now. She couldn’t mourn now when there was a war to win… and they finally had the means to end it. After this… when Zarkon was dealt with…

When there was a knock on the door, she rushed to open it, hoping… fearing it would be Keith but instead it was the Black Paladin.

“I hope I’m not bothering you.” The Paladin said.

“None at all. Come on in.” Kroalia said and made way: “I was hoping to talk to you.”

“About what?”

“The Blue Paladin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a nice weekend everyone.


	12. Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mother and son meet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know I've been misspelling Krolia's name all this time? Not one of my proudest moments.

“I was hoping to talk to you.” Krolia said.

“About what?” Shiro asked.

“The Blue Paladin.”

Shiro tried not to wince but couldn’t stop his cheek from twitching. He stepped to stare out of the window into space to avoid looking Krolia in the eyes.

“What about him?”

“He seems to be… close with Keith.”

Shiro rubbed his artificial arm. He had spent a long time here at the final frontier that he had almost forgotten that there was a so-called civilized world out there with all its petty prejudices. Was their alliance going to stumble on them before it had even begun? 

He could make out Krolia’s reflection from the window and studied her face. Trying to crack the code of her expressions but Krolia had a good poker face. Her eyes saw much and revealed little. Shiro couldn’t help but be impressed. He had always prided himself on his ability to read people. 

He would have to take a gamble. 

“It doesn’t get in the way of their duties and… it has made Keith more… balanced.”

Worry crept into Krolia’s voice.

“And he hasn’t always been… balanced?”

“I’ve known hm for a long time.” Shiro said.

Curiosity got the best of Krolia and she leaned closer. He could also sense a hint of jealousy from her. 

“Really?”

“I was the one who scouted him into the Garrison.” Shiro said. 

“And Trevor… his father… had no objections?”

His hand balled into a fist. He couldn’t help it. 

“Look… Krolia… about his father…”

“The Blue Paladin told me. I take it… this happened… after.”

Shiro sighed in relief. He would have to thank Lance later for making his job a little easier… for handling some dirty business on his behalf. He had seen combat in his military days but… what had almost broken him was letting families know… their loved ones weren’t coming home. 

“Yeah. Keith was… alone. Angry. Confused. But he had a lot of potential and I didn’t want to see it go to waste.” Shiro said and snorted: “When we met the first time… he stole my car.”

Krolia bared her teeth in a goofy grin.

“No.”

“Oh, yes. Eleven years old and he just took off with it. You should have seen the cops faces.”

“And yet you still had his back?” Krolia said.

“Someone had to… and I understood. What it’s like to be alone… and angry. My parents… did not approve of my… lifestyle choices and cut me off. I had to take a tour in the military just to afford university.”

Krolia nodded.

“Then I am in your debt for being there for him… when I wasn’t.” Krolia said and smiled sadly: “You remind me a bit of Trevor.”

“Thank you.”

“But Trevor never dodged a question. The Blue Paladin…”

A coating of iron appeared in Shiro’s voice.

“Is this about him and Keith being close?”

“No. How… many missions do you think you can get out of him before he… breaks?” Krolia asked and then gave him an accusatory look: “And don’t pretend you haven’t noticed.”

Shiro crossed his arms like it could guard his heart. 

“Why did you choose him?” Krolia said. 

“I… did not choose Lance. The Lion did. If it had been up to me… he would never have come here.” Shiro said and smiled without any humor: “Did you know English isn’t his first language? Its Spanish. Yet he did well enough in the written exam become a pilot. If I hadn’t been doing his interview, he would have made it too. It took me three minutes to realize that shooting someone would kill him.”

“And yet… here he is.” Krolia said.

“I don’t have much of a choice on pilots here, do I? And… when the fighting doesn’t happen up close… it’s easier to pretend you’re not killing people.” 

“He wised up.” Krolia said.

“I know.” Shiro said.

“There might still be hope for him if you took him off the field.”

“And who would take his place?” Shiro asked.

Krolia was silent for a moment and this time it was Shiro who was being dissected with a glance. When Krolia had learned everything about him she could by looking, she spoke. 

“You could give me a chance to bond with the Blue Lion.” Krolia said.

“You?”

Krolia stepped closer. 

“I have decades of combat experience. I know what it takes to fight Zarkon.”

Shiro turned away and thought. Allura would not like it… nor would many of their allies. If two of their pilots where Galra… how many would think that Voltron would be just the next boot stomping on their neck? But… Lance was dying. He had been dying ever since Velka… and Shiro did not know how to save him. 

Finally, he looked at her.

“Could you do it?”

“I can try. I don’t want Keith to lose anyone else.” Krolia said.

***

Keith sat in the only place he could feel at peace. Inside the Red Lion. Just the thought of stepping out made his palms sweat and his heart beat too fast. It was all too much. Mother… his mother…

“What should I do?” Keith asked.

The Red Lion was silent. Coran called them living beings that you had to bond with to fly but what kind of a living being was the Red Lion? Could it truly understand humans? Not that either of them was one but could a piece of metal understand betrayal? Anger? Bitterness? All of them stewing for years just waiting to boil over? 

Keith struck the cockpits wall without thinking and left a dent on it. 

An electric shock followed the blow and it knocked him back on his seat.

_What do I know of being betrayed?_

The voice was deep like the purring of some large cat when it echoed in his head. Visions followed the words. A world on fire. A sky darkened by instruments of war. He could see… his predecessor… Allura’s father amongst the flames. Barely standing. Bleeding from too many wounds to count.

“It doesn’t have to end like this, old friend.”

Zarkon stepped out from the flames and his yellow eyes shined brighter than the burning planet. A mockery of a friendly smile played on his scarred lips. 

“Where is my Lion? Tell me and you might still have a planet left to rule.” Zarkon said.

Alfor raised his weapon… not even a Bayard… and attacked. Zarkon just sighed like a good-humored parent whose child was throwing a temper tantrum. 

“Fine.”

Zarkon raised his Bayard and… cleaved Alfor in half. 

When the vision was over, Keith was left panting in his seat. When the Red Lion spoke to him, it sounded sad enough to break a heart.

_Don’t talk to me of betrayal, Keith. Zarkon betrayed us all… and I betrayed Alfor. I should have fought by his side._

“You can… talk?” Keith panted.

_I always have. Is it my fault that you don’t listen to anyone but yourself? But since you are here now, don’t call your mother a traitor. She made herself bait to save her cub._

“That’s not the same! She…! She could have told me! Called me! Written to me! Why…?! Why didn’t she take us with her?!”

_I don’t know, Keith. I’m not a human being._

Keith slipped into sullen silence but then he spotted Lance walking in the hangar. Looking more miserable than he had ever seen him. Lance stopped before the Blue Lion, but the sight of his mount didn’t soothe him. Keith got out of the cockpit. 

“Lance?”

When Lance turned to look at him, his eyes were hollow, and his smile faded.

“Hi.”

“Are… are you alright?” Keith asked.

“Peachy… I just… thought of Razkha and… Alsa… and her uncle. How… how are you holding up? With the mom situation?” 

“My… Lion talked to me.”

Lance grinned and looked a bit more like his usual self.

“Your Lion? Blue always gets pissy when I call her mine. She’s a free woman.”

Keith snorted. More out of politeness than any genuine humor. Then he hugged Lance. When he did, Lance sighed and some of the tension left him. He smelled of soap and chlorine.

“She was looking for you.” Lance said.

“Let her.” Keith said and pulled Lance closer: “I have been looking her for all my life. She can wait for an hour or two.”

They did not get an hour or two. They barely got a minute of tenderness when they could convince each other that everything would turn out alright. He didn’t hear the footsteps. It was only when the scent hit him that he noticed… her. The Galra… his mother… looked at them awkwardly. 

In a flash, Lance had jumped away from him and his brown face had a tint of red in it. When he needed it the most, Lance’s sense of humor abandoned him.

“… uh… I… we… uh…”

“Uh… yes.” His mother agreed: “Sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt.” 

“… uh… yeah.” Lance said.

 _Kill me_ , Keith thought. 

_Be careful what you wish for. You might get it_ , The Red Lion whispered to him.

“Blue Paladin… could you…?” His mother said.

Lance didn’t answer right away and instead turned to look at Keith. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. Keith knew what Lance was offering. If Keith needed him, Lance would be here for him. Keith thought about it… and decided to bite the bullet. This had to be done sooner or later… so it might as well be now. 

He nodded.

“Sure.” Lance said to his mother.

They watched Lance walk out of the hangar.

“He… seems nice.” Mother said.

He was but Keith didn’t feel the need to say it. Some things were self-evident. 

“Why are you here?”

Mother looked at the Blue Lion and reached out to touch it. When her fingers brushed against the smooth metal, she pulled her hand back fast like she had been cut. She rubbed her fingers before answering.

“I… heard about… Trevor.”

It wasn’t fair. It made it so hard to be angry when she sounded so… sad. He’d had… a list. All the ways mom had let him and dad down. How dad had never stopped waiting for her. How her absence and unanswered questions had sparked arguments that Keith still regretted. Dad had been so understanding and patient… but Keith had wanted to be angry. He had wanted someone to scream at. 

_I want a mom! Everyone at school has one!_

Dad… he had tried. Every day he had tried to fill a hole left by another person and more often than not… he succeeded. But it had tired him out and he could spend hours just sitting at a porch. Waiting. Worst part about his pain was… that he had forgiven mom. Keith had always resented him for that. When dad had presented him the knife… proof that he had a mother who cared… he had almost thrown it away. Only after dad… was gone… it had become something of an anchor. Evidence that… somewhere out there might be someone who… gave a damn.

The list… seemed so unimportant now. He couldn’t even remember half of it. He was too tired to remember. Or be bitter.

“Why? Why did you have to leave?”

Mom kept her sights on the Lions. Unable to meet his gaze. He could see tears in her eyes. 

“The Galra found me and… I couldn’t risk them finding another world to conquer and… I wanted you to have… a peaceful life.”

Keith let out a bitter snort.

“Sorry that it didn’t work out.”

“Yeah… but now I wonder if there is such a thing as peaceful life with Zarkon around. Maybe… I just put you in worse danger… by not teaching you how to fight.”

Mom sighed… and tears fell down her face.

“Keith… I never wanted to hurt you. I swear. You or Trevor. I just… wanted you both to be safe and happy. I… I’m sorry that I failed both of you.”

Keith… started laughing. He laughed until he cried. He couldn’t help it. Tears would just force their way out until he was a sobbing, snot-nosed mess. Mom stood paralyzed in the shadow of the Lions but not for long. She stepped in to pull him in her arms…

… and Keith pushed her back.

He had never liked being touched by strangers and… even if Krolia was his mother… she was a stranger. 

“Dad… never stopped waiting for you. He was always… waiting for you to come home.” Keith said when he could speak again.

Mom could only nod at that.

Keith cleared his eyes.

“Will the Blades help us?”

“That’s why we are here. We just… need to negotiate a deal on what… to do with the Galra when Zarkon is gone.”

Keith tried not think what the Galra would have to deal with it when Zarkon was gone. There would be a lot to answer to… answering to an angry mob. Keith nodded and looked at his hand. He had his mother’s hands. He was a Galra too… and their fate would be his fate. 

“I… have a lot to learn about being Galra. When this is over… could you teach me about… our people?”

He had never seen someone be stunned by… happiness.

“I’d love to, Keith.” Mom said.

***

Krolia watched her son go. He was a strange boy. So… tired out by emotions. A boy… who had given her a second chance. She would not squander it. She would be there for him this time.

For him and everyone else Keith loved.

She glared at the Blue Lion.

“You are killing him. Please. Let me save him. Let me do this one kindness to my son. He has lost enough.”

The Lion remained quiet.

Krolia sat down in the lotus position without taking her eyes off the Lion.

“Am I not to your liking? Would Coran be more to your tastes? I heard all the Lions have a type.” Krolia said and crossed her fingers: “Why him? Your Paladin is dying. You know it too, don’t you?”

She was so lost in her pleading that she didn’t notice Kolivan until he was standing behind her. An unforgivable act of carelessness. 

“Krolia.” Kolivan called.

Krolia stood up to greet her superior. 

“Sir.”

“Status report.”

Krolia told him what she had learned of all the Paladins while Kolivan admired the Lions. She told him about the Yellow Paladin, the Green Paladin… and the Red Paladin.

“What about the Blue Paladin?” Kolivan asked.

“He… is too gentle.” Krolia said.

Kolivan nodded.

“Me and the princess have reached an agreement. Will the Blue Paladin hold it together when we bring the fight to Zarkon?”

“… yes.”

“But you don’t approve?”

“Sending someone like him to face Zarkon…”

“I would sacrifice a million like him to defeat Zarkon and save our people.” Kolivan said but then his voiced softened: “I am not in the habit of sacrificing soldiers for nothing and… he seems to be close with your son.”

“Yes.”

Kolivan nodded.

“If a Galra kills Zarkon and erases our shame… and finds love with an outsider… our people might still have hope. More than ever we need hope. We could still find a place in the universe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a nice weekend everyone.


End file.
